Students Compete in Machine-Building Contest

Imagine a complex, whimsical machine that uses a chain reaction to accomplish a simple task. It is called a Rube Goldberg machine, and high school and college students from across the U.S. are taking part in a contest to build one. Middle school students from around the world also are invited to compete in an online version of the contest. Creating such a machine is anything but simple, as reporter Elizabeth Lee found out at one competition at a Los Angeles-area high school.