Shell Game : Toss . . . Splat . . . Yuck! Egg-Drop Competition Calls for Crack Problem-Solving Skills

Science teacher Ken Vander Veen carefully hoisted the vessels engineered by students at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica to the auditorium roof.

Then, one by one, he tossed the colorful contraptions. Each hurtled 40 feet to the concrete sidewalk below, and history teacher Steve Kramer rushed to the crash site, checking to see whether the cargo--a raw egg--had survived the impact.

One of them, a box covered with hundreds of glued-on cotton puffs, landed with a solid thud. Kramer, wearing a deep grimace, lifted the damaged container high in the air, allowing the yolk to ooze out dramatically.

A crowd of about 150 eighth-graders screamed with glee. Some, practicing their Spanish, held up signs reading que lastima or estupido.

The egg-drop contest was staged by teachers as a fun exercise in problem solving and teamwork. The contest was the main event of an “egg day” at the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District campus, which included a scrambled-egg brunch, egg-related poetry readings and an egg-decorating contest.

“It’s problem solving and critical thinking,” said English teacher Robin Drake. “And also it’s just fun . . . Kids that don’t participate a lot are participating in this, and that’s terrific.”

Drake, Vander Veen, Kramer and math teacher Jayne Brown form one of the six “teaching cores” at Lincoln. Each core works with one group of students, and theoretically, can better address the students’ individual needs because they teach as a team. A Spanish teacher is working with the core this semester.

As other cores engaged in different activities, Drake’s core jousted for space on the lawn in front of the auditorium. And soon it was raining eggs.

“It worked at home,” said a disappointed Linda Cardenas, 14, of her cotton-ball creation. “I don’t know what happened.”

“I think it was just too high this time,” said her partner, Caroline Castillo. The pair had tested their device earlier in the week by dropping it off a second-story balcony.

Students formed two- and three-person teams to design and build the egg containers, which were commissioned about one month ago. Single entries were also accepted.

Many of the 60 entries employed gravity-fighting devices such as parachutes and balloons. They met with limited success because a gentle breeze carried them away from the landing target chalked onto the sidewalk. Rules of the contest required each entry to hit a 10-foot-diameter target.

Some devices had to be launched with a good spin to get propeller action. They mostly fell like rocks.

Students used packing material and bubble wrap to cushion the eggs. One group buried its egg deep inside a cuddly stuffed dog, which was launched amid much laughter. This “pooched” egg did not survive.

“I learned a lot about the aerodynamics of dropping,” said Robbie Fischer, 13, whose entry “eggscalibur” used a sophisticated parachute made from a kit.

Fischer’s partner, Matt Risman, 14, came up with the name after reading about King Arthur’s Court in English class. A silver plastic sword that looked as if it had been plunged through the box coddled the egg housed within. The boys’ entry won the prize for “most elegant.”

Other categories included “most aerodynamic” and “biggest splat.”

The overall winners of the event were Paul Yoo and Neil Yang, both 13. According to contest rules, the lightest vessel with a surviving egg would win. Their contraption, which used a parachute and an air-filled plastic bag for cushioning, weighed half an ounce.

The duo said they knew they were victorious as soon as their entry made a successful landing. “It was all stuff out of the cupboards,” Yoo said. “I looked for the lightest materials.”