Egg drop sparks student creativity

“Drop that egg! Drop that egg!” Golden Hill fifth and second graders eagerly repeated this chant, waiting for teachers to drop the next group’s contraption from the ledge. Would the egg placed carefully inside survive the fall?

The annual egg drop, this year held on June 13, brings the two grades together to collaborate, using their imagination to create something to protect an egg when falling from large heights. On the first day of the project, students met their group members and began sketching ideas and discussing what materials they wanted to bring from home to bring the idea to life. Building took place on the next day and students could practice dropping their creation from a chair without the egg to see what types of adjustments they wanted to make.

Fifth grade teacher Michele McPhillips shared that the project allows students to employ “trial and error, problem-solving, teamwork and collaboration skills,” and discover that “it’s okay to fail and try again.” Students learn to listen to other’s ideas and opinions through the project as well.

“We really wanted the egg not to break so we made cushioning,” shared second grader Cameron Lawrence. One of her fifth grade partners, Birdie Rogowski, added, “We put bubble wrap in the box, cotton pads in there where the egg would lay and confetti on top. We used pipe cleaners and old packaging to make a parachute, and we used toilet paper rolls to make legs.” The students called their creation the Alien Ship.

Their faces were filled with excitement and joy when the egg emerged from the Alien Ship intact. “We learned that it doesn’t matter how big it is. You can make something small and it can still protect the egg,” said fifth-grader Kimberly Gonzalez-Barragan.

Materials from other groups included balloons, foam noodles, plastic bags, and more.

Second grader Ava Morgan said she enjoyed the egg drop so much that she couldn’t pick a favorite part. “I liked making new friends,” she shared, referring to the fifth graders she met while working on the project.

Morgan and many of her classmates, including Tristan Choinski, are already looking forward to working on the project again in fifth grade. Some are excited to work with their siblings who will then be in second grade.

“It was so much fun,” shared Choinski. “Everybody won!”