The animation works, but I would appreciate feedback on the way I've implemented it. Is there another approach that would be more elegant, more maintainable, etc?

You can see the project here -- just click the play button:

http://greendept.com/my_first_jquery/my_first_jquery.html

Basically, in the html I just used a bunch of divs with ids. ("View source" to see html.)

To see the jQuery, go here:

http://greendept.com/my_first_jquery/my_first_jquery_js.html

Glad to answer any questions, and will appreciate any advice or suggestions you might have.