THOUSAND OAKS : Fun-Filled Egg Drop Helps Students Break Into Physics

Joshua Nahmias, 10, slathered a raw egg in peanut butter, rolled it in miniature marshmallows, suspended it in a plastic container of Jell-O and then an adult dropped it off the roof. It didn’t break.

It was fun, he said. And it was also physics.

Joshua and the other students in Lesly Vick’s fourth-grade class at Westlake Elementary School held the 10th Annual Egg Drop on Friday.

In the popular science lesson, each child creates a protective case for a raw egg and then it is dropped two stories off the school cafeteria roof to the pavement below.

“We’re doing the scientific method of hypothesis or prediction, observation and data collection,” Vick said. “The egg and distance are the constants or controls, and the design, materials, and weather conditions are the variables in the experiment,” she said.

Before a volunteer parent dropped each container, students predicted the outcome based upon the material and design of the case.

Afterward, Vick urged students to draw conclusions about the construction materials based on the fall.

“Did the box land with a thud, or did it bounce, flip, or float down?” she asked.

No commercial packing materials such as Styrofoam were used. Students decided that eggs could not be reinforced by glue or tape, and the maximum size of the container was one square foot. Parachutes and landing gear were permitted.

Only three of the 24 eggs cracked, the highest survival rate yet, Vick said. Cubed Jell-O, dry cereal and popped corn were among the most successful padding materials. Elaine Shabaz, 10, created a glider made of wooden skewers and paper for her egg.

Danya Sawyer, 9, said she learned more than physics. “I discovered who the experimental and creative kids in the class were,” she said.