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Egg Drop Project

This is the classic egg drop experiment. Students try to build a structure that will prevent a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a significant height. They should think about creating a design that would reduce the amount of energy transferred from potential to kinetic energy on the egg shell. Some ways to do this would be to decrease the final speed of the egg using air resistance, increasing the time of the collision using some sort of cushion, transferring the energy into something else, or whatever else they can think of!

Each group of students gets the following:

• 2 small paper cups
• 1 sq ft of cellophane
• 4 rubberbands
• 4 popsickle sticks
• 2 ft of tape
• 1 egg (not provided)

Subjects Covered

• Energy Conservation

Provided by requester

• One egg for each student group
• Floor covering (Ex: Newspaper, Tarp)

Provided by us

• Small paper cups
• Rubberbands
• Popsickle sticks

Physics Behind the Demo

The Egg hitting the ground is a collision between the Earth and the Egg. When collisions occur, two properties of the colliding bodies are changed and/or transferred: their Energy and Momentum . This change and transfer is mediated by one or many forces . If the force is too strong, it can cause the shell of the egg to crack and break.

Momentum Transfer and Impulse (no Calculus)

Starting with the definition of Force a and knowing that acceleration is just the change in velocity over the change in time

$$ \textbf{F}=ma=m\cdot{\frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}} $$

If we move the $\Large \Delta t $ to the left side of the equation we can see how Force is related to momentum

$$ \textbf{F} \cdot{\Delta t}=m \cdot{\Delta v}$$

This means that the Force multiplied by the change in time, or duration of a collision, is equal to the mass multiplied by the change in velocity. Momentum (p) is defined as the mass multiplied by the velocity so the right side is the change in momentum. This change in momentum is the Impulse ( J )

$$ \textbf{J}= \textbf{F} \cdot{\Delta t}=\Delta \textbf{p}$$

a: In this case we are actually talking about the average force, but to keep things simple we will just call it the force.

Momemtum Transfer and Impulse (Calculus)

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Egg Drop Lab

Students work in teams to design a container for an egg using provided materials. Students drop their containers, then analyze factors which can minimize force on the egg.

Optionally, students can complete a second round of the experiment if time permits. Students work in teams to design a container for an egg using provided materials.

Lesson Files

• Egg Drop Guidelines (.docx)
• Explore Momentum and Impact Force in an Egg Drop (.docx)
• Explore Momentum and Impact Force in an Egg Drop (.pptx)

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Additional DCIs in This Strand

Materials needed for this lesson plan.

• Straws, set of 250
• Bag of Cotton Balls
• Popsicle Craft Sticks (100 pieces)
• Scotch Tape
• Gallon Ziplock Bags

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Egg Drop Project

Can You Drop an Egg without Breaking It? The egg drop challenge is a classic but it never ceases to amaze the kids, and I am always amazed with their ingenuity! With STEM we are always working to build creativity, problem solving skills, curiosity, and a passion for experimentation and learning. The Egg Drop Project is the perfect Summer STEM project for developing all of those areas. So let’s dig into this wildly popular activity.

Egg Drop Project Ideas

What you will discover in this article!

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With an egg drop project it always seems like the contraptions that you’re sure will fail, somehow keep that egg perfectly safe. Then the ones that seem indestructible, end up with egg all over! What makes a good egg drop experiment in my mind is a little bit of direction and a lot of freedom. Kids will copy just about anything you show them, but given the freedom to problem solve on their own is always a joy to watch.

I highly recommend doing this project outside or somewhere that allows for easy clean up. Dropped eggs can really splatter everywhere! You may also want to avoid this activity on really hot, sunny days, to avoid the splattered raw egg cooking before you can clean it up. If you want to try cooking some eggs on those hot days, check out our Solar Oven Project .

Egg Drop Project Supplies

What Do We Need?

Raw Eggs (and lots of them!)

Plastic Easter Eggs (optional but great for the planning and prep work)

Building Materials , this is where you want to raid your tinker kits , recycling bins, cupboards and really encourage kids to get creative! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Cut up Pool Noodles
• Cardboard Tubes
• Cardboard boxes (smaller ones, like shoe boxes or tissue boxes)
• Plastic containers (like yogurt containers)
• Packing Peanuts or other packing materials
• Rubberbands
• Plastic Cups
• Zip Top Bags
• Craft Sticks
• Cotton Balls
• Old shirts or pieces of fabric

You may also need:

Tape (clear tape, duct tape) Glue (school glue, glue sticks, glue gun) Scissors Hobby knife Markers

Inquiry Questions for Students

Start with some questions and a conversation to get your kids thinking like scientists and STEMists. Also, don’t be afraid to have kids use the Scientific Method to reinforce learning this powerful approach to experimentation.

Here are some questions and conversation prompts for you.

What happens when you drop an egg? This is a great time to talk about potential and kinetic energy.

What will happen if I drop an egg on the floor? If you’re feeling brave you could even drop an egg and let them see the mess and how fragile the shell is!

What causes the egg to break when it hits the ground?

What might we be able to do to prevent an egg from breaking? How can we protect it?

Could you build a contraption that would protect an egg? What would that look like?

What are some important things that you should consider when building?

You could also explore the parts of the egg and challenge kids to make Bouncy Eggs using chemistry . This could be a fun experiment to do, while doing the egg drop project. The result is an egg with no shell that bounces. A super cool experiment to do with the Egg Drop.

Science Vocabulary

This is a perfect opportunity to talk about some science vocabulary and the physics behind the egg drop!

Potential Energy: The energy an object may have based on its size and position.

Kinetic Energy: The energy of motion.

Gravity: The force that pulls objects to earth.

Velocity: How fast an object moves as it falls.

Momentum: the way an object will speed up as it is falling and continue until it meets an outside force – like the ground.

Collision: When two objects run into one another causing a change in energy and momentum.

Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion: Action & Reaction: For every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. If an object (egg) exerts a force on another object (the ground), the ground also exerts an equal and opposite force on the egg. For more projects on Newton’s Laws check out Balloon Rocket Physics or our Pinball Machine Project .

Egg Drop Project Step 1 – Design

I like to have students draw out their designs – making note of what they think is important to protect the egg. I let them look at the materials we have to work with so they have some direction. Some things to take into consideration are how can we slow the fall of the egg once it is released and how might we be able to protect the egg once it hits the ground. Once they have their design they need to bring me a materials list of what they need to build their design.

Egg Drop Project Step 2 – Build

Students are given a plastic egg for measuring purposes and the materials that they requested. I give them a set amount of time to build. It is good to stress here that they need to be able to remove their plastic egg and add an actual egg before the drop. The build process will inevitably present issues that the students will need to work with and adapt. This is all part of the process and encourages students to problem solve as they go.

Egg Drop Project Step 1 – Test

This is the fun part – I had students drop their eggs over a 2nd story railing. (With supervision at the top and bottom!) Sometimes you will hear a crack, but other times there is a lot of anticipation to see the results when you reveal the inside of the egg drop designs.

This part is always exciting! It’s a great time to ask students some questions. Do they predict the egg survived or not? How did the fall or the landing influence your prediction?

Then gather round and check the eggs!

It’s always funny to me how this turns out – the one contraption this time that I was sure would fail was by far the best egg drop design this year. This particular student had no interest in the suggestions of his classmates and simply wrapped the egg in pieces of pool noodle and rubber bands. The student didn’t really listen and hurled the egg over the railing rather than dropping it – I was sure we would all be covered with egg yolk and surprisingly his contraption just bounced and the egg was perfectly fine. While the student who made a meticulous soft cocoon of cotton balls and had a parachute to slow her fall ended up with a broken egg.

If you would really like to check out an amazing egg drop experiment that might not go the way you would think – check out the Egg Drop project using Oobleck – it’s a really cool out of the box way to try this challenge!

Egg Drop Final Step: Revise and Retest

I really enjoy leaving time to revise and retest designs whenever possible. It really helps encourage a growth mindset in the students – it’s the definite power of yet!

Have a blast with this classic STEM challenge with your students!

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Egg drop devices simulate parachutes and other similar features seen in nature, such as the helicopter seeds that are dropped from some trees. The process of slowing descent to resist the force of gravity has been used in a number of instances in history, and continues to be an important science – especially currently around emergency aid and transportation of goods to inaccessible areas.

Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan – Egg Drop

Handouts: Egg Drop Handout Reverse Egg Drop Handout Egg Drop Checklist

Presentation: Egg Drop + Brain Injuries Egg Drop Prezi Reverse Egg Drop Prezi

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Egging on Recycling: A classic egg science project with a challenging twist

March 14, 2018 by Evan-Moor | 0 comments

How does it work?

The goal of this experiment is to drop your egg from a two-story window (or the top of a ladder) and have it survive the fall with no cracks or breaks. How do you prevent damage? Impulse.

Impulse is a change in momentum and in physics and is expressed as: impulse equals force multiplied by impact time.

To reduce your impulse and chances of the egg breaking, aim to reduce either your impact time or force. Or in third- or fourth-grade terms: Make the egg contraption so it lands softly on the ground or rolls/bounces when it hits the ground.

Ways to reduce impulse:

• Bounce effect

So how do you find a design that works and uses no plastic? During a high school version of this experiment, these different designs produced the same result:

• One student simply stuck her egg in the center of a Charmin ultra strong toilet paper roll and tossed it out the window.
• A second pair of students fashioned a parachute from a used paper shopping bag and tied it to an egg cradle. The cradle was a layer of paper surrounding the egg and tied at the top. Underneath that was a layer of marshmallows, contained by another layer of paper and also tied at the top.
• A third student packed a paper take-out box with marshmallows and slipped her egg into the center.
• Another student designed a paper cone attached to a paper parachute with thin string, with the egg sitting in the middle of the paper-padded cone.

These designs are all made of recyclable material and can safely deliver an egg to the ground. Though the physics behind the matter can be fairly complex, it’s easy to simplify it to fit your class’s age. Everybody has dropped an egg out of a window, but challenge your class to do it using recyclable materials!

Reinforce students’ understanding with a reading selection on energy storage and transfer:  Download your free reading comprehension activity here ! (From Evan-Moor’s  Read and Understand Science   Grades 4-6.)

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

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Egg Drop Challenge: An engineering based science project

Share this post:, a messy engineering challenge that fosters creativity, egg drop challenge for creative afternoons..

The egg drop project is one of those science projects that can really fluster kids. But it also really helps them think outside of the box and apply engineering skills. 

You don’t need much for the egg drop science project, not even a high place to drop from.

I’ve done this many times over the years, sometimes we have dropped the eggs from the roof of our local observatory, other times we just stood on a stool and dropped them onto a hard tile floor. 

Both times kids found the project incredibly challenging. Very few were successful on their first attempt, which meant they got some practice with the engineering process (ask, imagine, plan, create, improve).

It also gave us a chance to talk about failure, and how failure can teach you.

There are many constraints you can put on your egg drop challenge.

Size, weight, materials, use of parachutes etc can all scale this engineering challenge up for older learners, or down for younger learners. Two egg drop challenge examples are the egg drop challenge with your recycling bin, and the egg drop challenge using only straws and tape. Feel free to choose one, or make your own constraints!

Egg Drop Project Ingredients:

(for first time, or younger, learners)

• Full recycling bin
• Tall place to drop your eggs from

Egg Drop Challenge Ingredients:

(for experienced, or older, learners)

Tips for a successful egg drop project

• Think about how to buffer the impact
• Create a reusable project
• Use hot glue or duct tape

1. Buffer the egg’s impact

A successful egg drop project means your egg has no cracks on it whatsoever when you take it out. Eggs are fragile. Drop it on its side or its top/bottom with no protection and it will break. 

If your egg drop experiment has protection on only one portion of the egg, you need to make sure there is a way to guarantee how the egg will descend to the ground as you are leaving yourself exposed.

You also want to think about how your egg will be buffered. Just before the egg hits the ground it is moving fairly quickly.

When it stops suddenly you need to absorb all of that kinetic energy (the energy of movement), ideally not into your beautiful pristine egg.

What is one big way to absorb a lot of kinetic energy quickly?

Into things that squish. It takes energy to deform a material, so the more material you can put in front of the egg to absorb the kinetic energy through deforming the better chance you have of your egg surviving. Things that squish could include bubble wrap, fabric, cardboard, paper scraps, airbags, straws that break etc. 

When I did the egg drop experiment in 6th grade a long long time ago, I used a thick liquid to absorb a lot of the kinetic energy – peanut butter .

2. Create a reusable egg drop project.

Here’s the thing with engineering challenges – they rarely work the first time around. If your egg drop experiment can only be dropped once you won’t have the chance to go back, determine what part of the vehicle failed, and find a solution to make the next drop better. 

When I run programs with my kid’s classes the best way I do this is by telling them the egg has to be put in right before the drop. This prevents kids from wrapping them in duct tape – which has absolutely been tried and absolutely does not work. It also makes them think about where the egg will be secured.

Instead of building a project around the egg it helps the kids think about building the project for the egg.

A reusable experiment is also the key to making this a true engineering challenge. Kids should first ask what the goal is.

From there they imagine a solution to keep the egg safe, plan the project, and create it. Finally, they test it and go back through the loop. 

They ask why it didn’t work (or maybe why it did work), they imagine a solution to that new problem, plan the changes and create an updated vehicle.

Or maybe a new vehicle entirely if their egg drop project was an utter failure – but the goal is to edit and revise over a variety of trials, not just scrap it every time. You want to save the “trash it” method for projects that really didn’t work.

To be able to critically think about how the failure happened, and create a plan to fix it, you need an egg drop project that can be reused.

Trust me, having a project that you can edit and modify over a variety of trials really does impact their learning. It also helps them find success much faster.

3. Use hot glue or duct tape.

This is good advice for lots of engineering challenges. Why? Because liquid glues take a long time to cure, and they often aren’t nearly as strong as hot glue. Personally, I love hot glue for these types of projects because it is easy to apply, holds really well, is water resistant, and dries quickly. 

A good backup to hot glue is duct tape.

Duct tape probably got me my Ph.D. – that stuff can really stick. The problem with duct tape is that it can be hard to get two awkward pieces to join together at odd angles.

With your only resources coming from the recycling bin that can sometimes cause a little frustration. 

We want to keep all of their frustration for dealing with, and overcoming failure. 

Check out some of our other activities

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Egg Drop Experiment

Learn how to modernize this age-old science experiment using the micro:bit to measure acceleration before breaking too many eggs!

Lesson concept

Use the micro:bit to measure force.

Watch this short video to see how to use a micro:bit to detect the force from a fall.

• Setup and procedure

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Successful Egg Drop Ideas

How to Design an Egg Drop Experiment Using Straws

Egg drop projects teach students to use logic and teamwork to protect their eggs from a fall. There are a variety of ways to conduct an egg drop. Begin by explaining the process and handing out eggs to the students. Set the parameters of your egg drop and a deadline when your students must be ready to drop their eggs or go bust.

Container Designs

Many successful egg drop designs use sturdy containers to protect the contents from the initial shock of the drop. These hard containers may be plastic food containers or cardboard boxes. But the hard container alone is not enough to protect the egg completely. The container needs padding inside. Styrofoam, sponges, cotton balls, bubble wrap or even wadded newspaper can all make good padding inside the container. Give your students time to practice with a variety of materials before dropping their eggs.

Straw Designs

Straws have firm walls around an empty space. The firm walls act like the sturdy container, while the empty space provides shock absorption for the egg. Build a shape around the egg with the straws. Hold the straws in place with tape. Add padding between the straws and the egg. Another way to use straws is to design a framework that suspends the egg during the drop. The frame absorbs the shock, preventing the egg from coming in contact with the surface.

Plastic Bag Designs

A hard shell is not the only way to protect an egg during an egg drop. Plastic bags are less of a shell, but they provide a structure to hold padding material around the egg. Add padding such as foam, bubble wrap or packing peanuts between the egg and the side of a small plastic bag. Place the small bag into a medium-sized bag and add more padding around the small bag. Place both bags into a large plastic bag with additional padding around the medium bag.

Alternative Designs

Try limiting your class to specific groups of materials such as ensuring that all padding is edible. Try using cereals such as puffed rice or wheat as padding. Fruit is another option. Use grapes, cherry tomatoes or orange wedges between the egg and the side of the box or container. The fluid-filled cells work in a similar way to the air-filled bladders of bubble wrap. Consider that the egg must drop but is not required to hit the ground. Insert the egg into panty hose or attach an egg-protecting container to a bungee cord to prevent the egg from hitting the ground. Suspend your egg from a helium-filled balloon or build a glider to deliver your egg to the ground.

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• PBS Kids: Egg Drop

About the Author

Based in Nashville, Shellie Braeuner has been writing articles since 1986 on topics including child rearing, entertainment, politics and home improvement. Her work has appeared in "The Tennessean" and "Borderlines" as well as a book from Simon & Schuster. Braeuner holds a Master of Education in developmental counseling from Vanderbilt University.

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How to Drop an Egg Without Breaking It by Using Straws and Rubber Bands

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Exotic & emerging avian viral diseases research: athens, ga.

Location: Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research

Project Number: 6040-32000-081-007-I Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement

Start Date: Aug 1, 2020 End Date: Sep 30, 2024

Objective: Egg drop syndrome (EDS) of chickens is caused by an atadenovirus. It was originally identified in 1976 and is also commonly referred to as EDS76. Clinically the virus causes production of pale, thin -shelled, and shell-less eggs, and the primary economic effect is because of the decrease in usable eggs. The virus is thought to naturally occur in ducks where there are mixed reports on whether it causes clinical disease. It can also infect geese and experimentally quail, but the disease in chickens remains the main economic concern. The virus has been detected in many countries, and it was recently reported from layer chickens in the United States with clinical disease. Although this was the first detection of the virus associated with clinical disease, evidence of atadenovirus virus circulation in the U.S. dates back to the 1980s. As well as the economic concerns of drops in egg production, trade issues have occurred with some countries blocking U.S. poultry exports because of concern of poultry meat being a potential source of virus introduction into their country. The EDS virus likely is transmitted from asymptomatic ducks to poultry, but once introduced the virus can persist. The virus is believed to be vertically transmitted through the egg from the hen to the chick at low numbers, but the virus can spread horizontally to infect most birds within a flock. The virus is also persistent, particularly in the reproductive tract, which contributes to the main pathology and spread to the next generation. Most of the research on EDS was conducted in the 1970-80s, and no studies were performed specifically looking at whether meat or other poultry products can be a source of introduction of virus through trade. The concern is that raw poultry scraps that came from an infected chicken will be feed to backyard poultry, which could introduce the virus into a country with no known previous infection. In addition, immunologic studies will examine the importance of the fiber and hexon proteins to provide protective immunity in chickens. This may allow for the use of subunit vaccines and the differentiation of vaccinated and naturally infected birds.

Approach: 1) Evaluate the risk of EDS virus being found in broiler chickens at slaughter EDS virus is thought to be transmitted by both vertical and horizontal transmission. Infected breeding hens can lay eggs infected with the virus at a low prevalence, but the infected chicks can after hatching spread the virus horizontally to uninfected hatch mates so that eventually most birds in a flock will become infected. The proposed challenge experiment will follow the pathogenesis of the virus in white rock broiler chickens inoculated at different ages. We also propose to infect two 1 day old chicks and move the infected birds to a naïve group of twenty same age chicks. 2) Pathogenesis study of EDS virus in layer chickens EDS virus if introduced into a layer flock causes a persistent infection with the virus having an affinity for the reproductive system that can result in layer chickens having decreased egg production and/or malformed eggs. These egg abnormalities can cause important economic losses to the producer. A pathogenesis study is planned to examine a representative EDS virus from Pennsylvania, which appears to be the center of the current outbreak in the U.S. 3) Evaluate the immune response to different EDS proteins Based on the existing literature of EDS and related adenoviruses, the surface proteins, fiber and hexon, will produce an antibody response that is neutralizing in cell culture. We plan on evaluating in more detail the ability of antibody to each of these proteins alone and together to protect chickens from infection. 4) Vaccine challenge experiment A vaccine challenge experiment will be conducted to evaluate the subunit vaccines in comparison with traditional whole virus inactivated vaccines. The subunit vaccine may include baculovirus expressed protein or the viral vectored vaccine. The whole virus vaccine will be produced in house using a commercial adjuvant. Vaccine protection will be evaluated by reduction of clinical signs (egg quality and quantity) and virus titers in blood and cloacal shedding. For the subunit vaccines, it will be evaluated if a DIVA strategy can be developed. 5) Diagnostic test evaluation and development Evaluation of real-time PCR (RT-PCR) to demonstrate sensitivity and specificity. In addition to the molecular testing, serologic testing will be evaluated. We will also look at expressing the hexon and fiber proteins in a baculovirus system to determine if these are good antigens for use as a diagnostic test, specifically an ELISA format. 6) Next Generation Sequencing The use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) will be used with the goal of optimizing sequence from clinical samples. We plan on exploring different methods of host depletion including specifically targeting rRNA sequences from chickens to try and increase the sensitivity of NGS as well as using custom targeted bait hybridizations methods to specifically increase sequence from specific pathogens as a way to increase sensitivity.

The Ultimate Egg Drop Engineering Project

Categories Engineering Activities

When I was a kid, we had a book about this egg drop engineering project , and ever since then, I have wanted to try it. We live on the third floor, so we have quite a long drop from our balcony, which is perfect for this experiment.

If you don’t live in an apartment or have a second story, you might be able to test your eggs by tossing them off your roof. The egg drop challenge is one of our favorite engineering activities for kids!

We’ve also tried a turkey egg drop that was tons of fun!

How to Do the Egg Drop Engineering Project

The egg drop engineering challenge is one of our favorite engineering activities!

The goal of this project is to create a container that will safely deposit a raw egg onto the ground when it is dropped from something high.

Egg Drop STEM Challenge Ideas

Let kids be as creative in their designs as they want.  You might want to include some design challenges like they must use a cardboard box, their design must fly, or they have to use sponges.

You could also require that the designs be a certain size, such as under 10 inches.

Make your egg drop have a theme, like in our turkey Egg Drop Project with Popsicle Sticks .

Another fun twist is to try dropping the eggs from different heights. The egg padding that withstands the most tumbling is the winner!

The Science Behind the Egg Drop Challenge

I love the egg drop engineering project because it involves creativity mixed with a bit of physics.

The force of the fall and the impact breaks the egg. But with enough design adaptations, you can prevent an egg from breaking at almost any speed!

There are probably hundreds of designs that will keep the egg safe.

With a group of children, it would be fun to see what differing designs could be successful in keeping the eggs from breaking.

The more types of designs tested the better!

What You Need for Egg Drop Designs

You’ll need these supplies for the egg drop engineering challenge.

• Raw eggs (buy some cheap ones so you can make multiple attempts)
• Various containers and padding
• We used bubble wrap, cotton balls, plastic trash bags, plastic food containers, string, tape, plastic bags, and egg crates

How to Set Up an Egg Drop Engineering Project

Follow these steps to make your own egg drop STEM challenge!

Idea 1: How to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped with straws

In this version, I challenged the kids to create a cage for their egg out of straws.

It was a pretty good design!

Even though we only dropped it from the second story, I bet the design would have held up from even higher up.

Idea 2: How to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped

Monkey thought she could create a little nest for the egg like in a hot air balloon. She used the trash bag as the balloon and placed the egg in a plastic ice cream dish.

She padded the bottom of the egg, but not the sides.

When we dropped the egg, it fell onto its side and exploded.

Idea 3: Balloon egg drop design

Monkey expanded on the hot air balloon design, but this time, she made the container holding the egg larger.

She padded the egg in several layers of padding, including a plastic bag blown up to create an air pocket. She taped the container to the trash bag balloon.

When we dropped this package, it still fell pretty heavily (I’m not sure the balloon part was necessary), but the padding prevented the egg from breaking.

If you do the egg drop engineering project, share your results with us! We would love to see your creations!

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Share this project with a friend!