The egg drop design challenge reminds me of what I enjoy most about being a science teacher.
The activity is a variation of an egg drop, and the materials are flexible. I always include scissors, plates, and blue tape. You can swap everything else with other items. I recommend you give your students between 60-90 minutes to complete the activity.
The Google Slide presentation divides this activity into a Design, Build and Drop phase that can range from 15 to 30 minutes each. Students can use any extra time to complete the Analysis Questions or this Google Form to share their data. You can also get all the resources at once using this link.
To make this a design challenge, I limit the number of materials each group or student uses by setting a maximum budget and price for each item. Students can inspect and collect any materials during the design phase, but no building is allowed. Free items are the 12-24 inch strip of blue tape, scissors, and the egg.
You can set a criteria for the most successful design like the ratio of the COST to the HEIGHT the egg survives. You can also repeat this activity once students learn about collisions or car safety devices.
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Photo Album of Student Designs
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