Need ideas for the dreaded "Egg Drop Project"!!

[always quiet]

Since I can't even get an egg into a frying pan intact, I need help! Any ideas on how to get an egg to survive a 30 ft fall?? Bubble wrap not allowed! The number of items used in the 'egg crate' will determine the score (1 item used, no breaks, 100.....2 items used.....90.....). Also "gooey" food items not permited.

I was thinking about stryofoam from a snow globe container and some packing peanuts. They are kind enough NOT to count the tape used to close your container (a whole 6") as a part of your design.

 

[bubie2.5]

All I can think of is putting it into a giant pillow.

 

[mtblujeans]

My DS just finished this project. He tried several things. I think the thing he ended up with was a 4" or 5" styrofoam ball that he scooped out the center for the egg to fit. Then he built a small cardboard box (cause we did not have one on hand) and put some type of packing into it...maybe packing peanuts (I didn't see what he ended up with) and put the sealed ball with the egg inside into the box and then sealed that. He was one of the last 5 kids in the 8th grade whose egg survived. I can ask him what he used for packing the inside of the box when he gets home. When the egg did not break for the 30' drop, the teacher came up with longer drops and the egg did not break thru any of them. I was even amazed!

 

[Rock'n Robin]

Wow, no bubble wrap? That is what DD#1 used last year. Guess teachers are catching on!
Robin M.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I did this in high school. I bought 2 foam sponges (the kind you wash your car with). Cut out a half egg-shape in the center of each one. Put the egg inside and put the 2 sponges together with the egg in it's little "nest." Then I taped up the seams with packing tape. It survived 2 drops and never broke. Good luck!

 

[Az Pirates]

Originally posted by Rock'n Robin
Wow, no bubble wrap? That is what DD#1 used last year. Guess teachers are catching on!
Robin M.

My DD was given a 'kit' this year - nothing good at all in there!
I don't think anyone even survived round two of the drop, let alone round 3... which was dropping a book on top of the egg. Yikes!

The scooped out styrofoam or the foam sponges both sound like good choices.

 

[piratesmate]

DD did this in 4th grade & her "team" had the only egg that didn't break. (Once they survived the 2 story fall, the teacher started throwing them up for a 2nd round.)

They put the egg in a 5 oz plastic drinking cup with crunched up paper towels to cushion it. Then they took a couple drinking straws, cut them down to form a support for the "sail". The sail was paper (several sheets I think) folded into a triangular shape & taped to the straws. The straws were taped to the cup.

It looked simple, but it worked.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

Very cool ideas.

 

[WDWHound]

Get some nylons. Place the egg about halfdown a leg and tie a knot in the nylons on either side of the egg to secure it. Attach one end of the nylons to the top of the crate and the other end to the bottom so the the egg is suspended in the middle of the crate. Be sure the nylons have no slack or the egg will slame into the side of crate on impact. If done right, the nlyons will hold the egg far from the side of the crate and act as a shock absorber. You can add a second pair of nylons (attached to 2 sides of the box and tied near the egg to the nylons holding the egg) to create even more stability and shock absorbsion.

 

[Geoff_M]

I was envolved in such a "team building" activity at work with about 5 teams... we won. One of our tricks that helped us the most was that at the center of the package there was a hollow core. The egg was in the core... but it was suspended by rubber bands in a number of directions. The rubber bands were taped against the egg. The idea was that the rubber bands would act as "shock absorbers" to the impact, instead of having pressure come up from below from any material the egg may be resting against. Make sure there's enough rubber bands to keep the egg from yo-yo'ing into the rest of the structure.

 

[krissy3483]

I dont know if twinkies are considered sticky foods or not, but this episode of Full House was just on a day or two ago, and DJ did it by taping the egg to a bed of twinkies and attaching a parachute. Some of the other ideas here sound much better though.

 

[mt2]

My DD's did this in the 3rd grade.

We used poly fill around the egg. Small layer. We then put this in a diaper. Wrapped it as if it was used and were going to throw it away.

It survived all three drops. It didn't survive the bus ride home though.

Good luck.

mt2

 

[lilpritch04]

Well, about 12 years ago I used a helium balloon and my egg survived all 3 drops! We didn't have the book slamming thing though.
The most creative in our class was a boy who filled a coffee can with yeast and put the egg inside. We punished that coffee can to the point that it cracked--but the egg never did! I see you can't use gooey foods though, so it won't work for you.

Good luck!

 

[mtblujeans]

OK. DS is home and he is more than happy to share his experience with you! He cut in half and hollowed out a 4" styrofoam ball. Put the raw egg in a sealable plastic bag and then inside the ball. Held the 2 halves together with rubber bands. He made a 12cm x 12cm x 12cm cardboard box and put the ball inside. He filled in any empty spaces inside the box with 1" thick foam cut into strips. Although the box was taped together, he used more rubber bands to keep it closed. The egg inside survived 2 - 30' drops and 1 - 50' drop. Ta-Da!!

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

The last time I had to make an egg-drop box, I happened to be working at a shipping place. The requirement was that the container be 12x6x6 inches or smaller. I went into work with a hard boiled egg, got a 12x6x6 box, and used our spray-foam machine to make a custom mold around the egg.

The egg survived a drop from 5 feet, from the 2nd story of our school, and from the roof of the school. It even survived for about 5 minutes of playing soccer with the container, kicking it against the wall. I have no doubt that the egg would have continued to survive had the corner of the box not split open.