The day in the life… of an egg

Egg-drop activity kicks off spring break for Discover students

Cole Brumet's egg survived. If you ask him, he'll tell you his secret.

Right before spring break started for Discover Elementary School students, five third- through fifth-grade classes took part in an educational activity through their technology class.

The students carefully packed an egg in a homemade box. Then, they watched all their hard work shatter or survive a precarious 25-foot drop.

Afterwards, Cole explained that he packed his egg box with real rocks (not gravel). This way, no matter how the container smacks down on the pavement, the egg will be centered.

"It was a fun way to end [school] before the spring break," Cole's teacher, Monica McAtee, said. For just under an hour, boxes upon boxes containing the precious eggs were dropped from a cherry picker-styled truck, courtesy of the Grant County PUD.

Students were standing on the sidelines, waiting their turn and intently watching each box fly through the air. Some were jumping up and down, happy their egg survived. Others stared helplessly at the ground, observing the gooey remains.

Back in McAtee's third- through fifth- grade classroom, her students told all by sharing what they used as packing materials. Pillow stuffing, newspapers, cotton balls, old homework assignments, cotton from a ripped pillow, prepared Jello, foam pellets, Styrofoam, bubble wrap, toilet paper, insulation and popped popcorn were some of the items used as protection for their eggs.

This is the first time McAtee has incorporated the egg-drop activity into her classes at Discover. Students document the life and times of their egg by making predictions on whether or not each egg will live through the drop.

Next, their observations and photos from the afternoon of egg-dropping are compiled and finally, all the information is inserted into a PowerPoint presentation about the scientific process.

According to McAtee, only two out of 20 eggs broke from her class.