May STEM Challenge: Egg Drop Eggstravaganza!

Guidelines:

  1. Construct a container to protect an egg from cracking when dropped from a height.
  2. See how high up you can drop your egg from without it cracking! Start small, then keep progressing so that you can get a fairly accurate measurement of your egg container’s protective abilities!
  3. Observe what happens to your carrier and egg after each test. How can you improve your carrier? If the egg breaks, continue modifying your container until the egg is protected. 
  4. Try to use materials with different properties and a range of construction methods to create an effective and creative egg carrier. 

Don’t forget to submit your creation by sending pictures to stemsubmissions@gmail.com for a chance to win a cool trophy! Scroll down for more information. 

Suggested Materials:

Many of the materials below can be found around the house and recycled.

Insulations

  • Tissue paper
  • Bubble wrap
  • Packing peanuts 
  • Stuffing 
  • Cotton balls
  • Newspaper and/or paper
  • Feathers
  • Popcorn
  • Felt, fabric, etc.
  • Sponges

Shape

  • Cardboard: boxes, tubes, spare pieces, etc.
  • Straws 
  • Popsicle sticks

Adhesive and Connections 

  • Tape
  • Wire
  • Glue 
  • Rubber bands
  • String

Parachutes 

  • Balloons
  • Trash/Plastic bags

Suggested Tools:

  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun
  • Tape
  • Glue

Factors to consider:

  • The weight of your container
    • Does the weight of your container affect how hard it hits the ground?
    • How can you decrease the momentum of your egg container as it falls?
  • The shape
    • How can you decrease the impact of your container with different shapes?
  • The materials
    • How much impact can your container absorb?
  • Think about the orientation of the egg in your container
    • The arc shape of an egg helps distribute pressure around (up or down) the egg shell so the impact does not act on only one point of the egg. When designing your carrier, remember that the egg is stronger at either arced end then on the sides. 

Testing methods:

  • Place an egg (or egg alternative) into your carrier
  • Drop from the highest place you can find!
    • Second story window
    • A ladder (may need adult help)
    • If you can’t find a really tall location, could you toss your carrier up into the air
  • Start from a lower place and work your way higher to see which heights your carrier can survive.
    • Try some smaller drops first to see how your container holds up. Do you notice if it bounces, or breaks? How can you change this?
  • Egg alternatives:
    • Water balloon
    • Plastic egg (with weight or water)

DID YOU KNOW?

Eggs are actually super strong and can withstand crazy amounts of weight thanks to their calcium carbonate shell and radial egg shape! An experiment done by a harvard professor proved that one egg could support 250lbs!! That means that with the proper set up, an egg could support an adult male standing on it.

https://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/presentations/egg-shell-strength

Reference Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsnyl8llfH4

Information on the science behind the egg drop: https://sciencing.com/best-science-subscription-boxes-13763607.html

https://sciencing.com/impulse-momentum-theorem-definition-derivation-equation-13720444.html

Additional Challenges:

  1. Try to add a parachute
  2. Drop it from a higher place – keep going higher until your egg breaks!
  3. Once you egg breaks, try and revise your design and see if you can improve it.
  4. Can your container protect multiple eggs?
  5. Calculate the velocity of your egg drop 

General Guiding Questions/Suggestions:

  1. What are some ways you can protect the egg?
  2. How did you design the structure for your egg carrier?
  3. What materials did you choose and why?
  4. How can you improve your carrier?

Reflection Questions:

  1. How does the height of the drop affect how well the egg survives?
  2. What materials worked best to protect your egg?
  3. How did you decrease the impact of your egg hitting the ground?
  4. If your egg cracked, how did you improve your container so the egg didn’t break?
  5. What did you learn about momentum?

To submit:

  • Send a picture of your creation and answers to the optional questions if you filled them out to stemsubmissions@gearticks.com by May 31st. Your creations will be featured on the GearTicks website and you have the chance to win a cool trophy!
  • Feel free to include any planning you did as well as your favorite part of the challenge!
  • Your submissions can be a google document, PDF, image, or just an email

If you have any questions feel free to email hello@gearticks.com!