Program Gives Students the Drop on Science

As a boy readied to drop an aerodynamic device containing a raw egg from the second-floor balcony, children down below egged him on. The kids on the ground counted down from 10. Then they laughed at the sound of “plaf”--the egg cracking on the target.

The purpose of the experiment was to keep the egg intact, but “plaf” reverberated throughout Friday morning as the kids dropped their creations from the Business Administration and Economics building at Cal State University Northridge.

But the yolk on the target did not discourage the youths.

“It’s scrambled eggs now,” said a smiling Jeffrey Wu, 12, of Winnetka. “It shows how strong gravity is.” Wu is one of 27 middle school students taking a five-week class called Science Olympiad, which is based on a national science competition for middle and high school students. Working in groups, the children also build cars powered by a mouse trap, construct miniature bridges and make water-propelled rockets.

“They’re here to use problem-solving skills, to work with each other--which is the hardest part for these kids,” said teacher Gladys Sorensen.

“We learn the metric system, how a structure holds up,” Jeffrey said.

More often than not, the structures don’t hold up.

“It’s kind of aggravating because it keeps breaking,” said Nick Wise, 13, of Northridge.

The egg drop devices are made with 15 straws, 15 Popsicle sticks, string, tape, five rubber bands and a paper parachute. No eggs remained intact after more than 20 drops.

“They learned from their mistakes,” Sorensen said. “It would’ve been nice if some eggs had survived.”