Egg Drop

Can you design the safest capsule for your egg?

Introduction: You will be creating a device that can protect your egg from a large fall. The device you build needs to soften the landing of the egg when it is dropped by either slowing the egg in the air (with a parachute), or slowing it down right when the egg hits the ground (like a cushion).

Before we begin, here are some great ideas Mark Rober thought up of for this type of project:

Materials:

1 egg

1 Pack of Straws

1 Roll of Masking Tape

Paper and string (if you want a parachute)

Cotton Balls

(These materials are just recommended and you can use more, less, or the same materials for your own egg drop project)

Steps:

1. First create a cavity for your egg so you can build your device around it.

You will do this by taking cardboard or paper (or even a paper cup) and putting the egg inside of it. Then make a roof for the egg so that the egg can’t jump out of the container when it is being dropped by using tape to tape up the top of the cup or paper.

2. Use straws to create a v-shape around the egg (as shown in the video).

This makes it easier to attach your own designs to the egg (like landing legs or a parachute)

3. If you want to attach a parachute, the easiest way is to take a grocery store plastic bag and tape it to the egg container.

If you don't have a plastic bag, then you can use paper and string to make a parachute that is as big as you want!

4. Add your own design to your device.

You can add cotton balls in the cup or even create springs using straws!

Here is an example design for an egg drop device:

This is a design that has cotton balls on the legs and inside the cup so that the egg’s impact on the ground is soft. We used a straw pyramid to hold the egg and it’s container inside the egg drop device.

It can help to draw out your design before you build it so that you have an idea of what your final egg drop device will look like before you actually build it.

Be Creative!

Game:

Compete with your friends! How high can each of you drop your egg before it breaks in your own devices? Make sure a parent is watching you or dropping the egg for you if you are dropping them from higher than 5 feet off the ground.