Have your kids thinking outside the eggshell with this STEM egg drop challenge.
They will be scrambling to design a way to protect the egg!
What is the Egg Drop Challenge?
The Egg Drop Challenge challenges kids to develop a way to protect a raw egg.
The egg will be dropped from a certain height and will need to withstand the impact.
If the egg is dropped and it isn’t broken, then this STEM activity was a success! If the egg cracks or breaks, some revisions need to be made to the protective layers.
Brainstorming an idea, figuring out how gravity, force, and impact will crack the egg, engineering a solution, testing, revising, and testing again are all part of this STEM activity.
These are some of the key actions needed for a STEM or STEAM challenge.
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Egg Drop Challenge Ideas
There are many different ideas that can successfully keep the egg safe.
Slow the Fall
Create a parachute to slow the fall of the egg. The slower the egg hits, the less likely it is to break.
Create a Barrier
Make a triangle around the egg with sticks or straws so the egg lands on the sticks or straws and not on the egg.
Cushion the Fall
Crumble up paper or use packing materials to help cushion the fall.
Place the Egg Strategically
Orient the egg so the strongest part (top or bottom) of the egg will hit the ground if it hits.
Egg Drop Challenge Materials
Whatever you have lying around is sure to work.
Be sure to include something like paper that can be crumpled or used for a parachute, something stiff like straws or sticks, tape, a cushion material like bubble wrap or sandwich baggies that can be filled with air, and something to attach different items together (like chenille stems).
You can provide the materials or have your kids brainstorm Egg Drop Challenge ideas and come up with the materials they need to fulfill their visions.
How To Do the Egg Drop Challenge
*You may want to cover the area with a shower curtain or something similar to make the cleanup easier. You can also opt to hard boil the eggs. The cracks will still show if the egg isn’t protected enough.*
1- Explain to your kids that the point of the Egg Drop Challenge is to create a way to protect the egg when dropped from a certain height.
2- Provide various materials to spark ideas for a device to protect the egg.
3- Encourage your kids to sketch or draw the Egg Drop Challenge ideas they are brainstorming.
4- Allow your kids to bring their ideas to life using the provided materials.
5- Test the contraptions without the egg. You can use a plastic Easter egg in its place. Lightly push the two shells together. By not fully snapping the plastic egg, it is likely to crack open as a real egg would if it experiences too much force.
6- Have your kids modify their designs based on their trial test.
7- Do the final egg drop. Drop the eggs and their protection devices from a designated height.
8- See how well each device protected the egg.
STEM Activity Conclusion
Despite eggs being wildly expensive right now, this egg drop challenge is an excellent way for your kids to engineer a way to protect something as delicate as an egg.
Hopefully, your kids have success with the STEM activity, so the eggs can be used to bake a celebratory cake.
You can also hard boil the eggs, and the egg will crack if it isn’t properly protected. No eggs are wasted around here.
Egg Drop STEAM Experiment
Put your budding engineers to work with this fun Egg Drop STEAM Experiment! It requires a lot of problem-solving and creative thinking to make it happen!
Materials
- paper
- straws
- sticks
- tape
- bubble wrap
- sandwich baggies
- chenille stems
- cardboard
- foam
- and anything else your kids come up with!
Instructions
1 - Explain to your kids that the point of the Egg Drop Challenge is to create a way to protect the egg when dropped from a certain height.
2- Provide various materials to spark ideas for a device to protect the egg.
3- Encourage your kids to sketch or draw the Egg Drop Challenge ideas they are brainstorming.
4- Allow your kids to bring their ideas to life using the provided materials.
5- Test the contraptions without the egg. You can use a plastic Easter egg in its place. Lightly push the two shells together. By not fully snapping the plastic egg, it is likely to crack open as a real egg would if it experiences too much force.
6- Have your kids modify their designs based on their trial test.
7- Do the final egg drop. Drop the eggs and their protection devices from a designated height.
8- See how well each device protected the egg.
Notes
*We recommend putting down a plastic shower curtain in the drop area before starting the egg drop testing. They sure can splat and make a mess!