Your budding engineer will be very egg-cited to test out their critical thinking skills when you do the Egg Drop Challenge together! This project is typically done in high school physics classes, but it is certainly something that elementary-aged children can attempt.
The goal is to create a contraption that will protect a raw egg from a fall from a great height. This is an open-ended project that allows your child to get as creative as they want to design and build their contraption. It could be fun and more effective to invite some friends over so that they can work as a team to design and build their egg-protector!
First, they should pick out some materials. This can be anything they can think of – plastic bottles, cups, sponges, straws, newspaper, and more. The recycling bin is a great place to start, but you can also provide them with more options from around the house. Once they have collected some materials, challenge them to create a design that will have the best chance of protecting the egg when it falls.
Once they have drawn out their design, they can put their contraption together. Have them write down their predictions of what they think will happen. Drop the egg and see what happens! Did the egg break? If so, ask questions to help them identify what might have gone wrong and what changes they can make to their design to prevent the egg from breaking on the next drop.
Not only is this a wonderful chance for your child to hone their engineering skills, but they will also learn that, just because something doesn’t work out the first time, it doesn’t mean you have failed. A broken egg is an opportunity to learn and grow and become better and stronger!
Learn more about the Egg Drop Challenge from Buggy and Buddy HERE!
As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!
We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity! Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!
