physics... jessica's success - my mechanical challenges

Jessica revealed to me this past weekend that her physics final project is due Thursday, May 25th. Her assignment is to build a Rube Goldberg style contraption that made use of 10 physics elements. The elements had to include wheels, levers, gravity, electricity, etc. For the past couple of days we've been collecting bits of wood, wheels, marbles, glue, and other junk, to build her contraption... which is supposed to dispense M&Ms. Here I sit, at 9:45 p.m., waiting for a fistful of elements to finish gluing to the base piece of plywood. About 11:00 p.m. we'll try to finish the gluing process. Hands-on construction is really not my strong suit, but we're giving it our best shot. Will the machine actually work? Update - 5/25! The machine worked! The M&Ms were dispensed correctly! I'm very proud of Jessica's design and her willingness to put forth the necessary effort, even when she was tired and it was late at night. Jessica assures me that the other students waited to begin their machines until today... even the collection of parts. She did pretty well in the moustrap car project... we'll see how this one fares.