The principles covered in this exercise are: gravity, free fall, momentum, impulse, and impact force. By partaking in this fun experiment, the students will learn about the ways they are able to decelerate  an object through cushioning  and springs.  They will learn that by increasing the deceleration time, they can decrease the force on an object, which is the Law of Impulse and Momentum Change. Furthermore, the students will learn how different materials have better cushioning properties.
 

2.What is the activity?

 The purpose of this activity is to prevent an egg, encased in a container, from breaking when it is dropped from 8 feet.  The students will be given various materials to use inside and outside of the container.  The materials for the interior of the container include: Kleenex tissues, sponges, cotton puffs, packing popcorn,  and bubble wrap.  To demonstrate how different materials will have better/worse results, the instructor will designate certain groups with two of the materials listed.  For the exterior of the box, all groups will be given paper, string, and rubber to use as they please to further reinforcement.
 

3.What age group is the activity designed for?

Anyone can participate in this activity.  The minimum age group should be around 4th grade.  The instructor might want to hard-boil the eggs for students in the 4th to 8th grades. And for more of a challenge, 9th through 12th grade students can use raw eggs.

 
4.What will the children do and how will they learn by doing your activity?

The children will be given basic instructions explaining that they will need to devise a structure to prevent an egg form breaking.  Then the children will split into 10 groups.  Each group will be assigned to different damping materials.  By building the structures they will learn how to arrange and pack materials in the container to best reduce the impact force.  Then after testing each of the different boxes, they will be able to deduce what materials perform better than others.
 

5.What will be in the activity box? If appropriate, include a sketch of the activity.

1.  10 identical containers
2.  Dozen eggs (hard-boiled or raw)
3.  2 boxes of Kleenex
4.  Bag of Sponges
5.  3-4 bags of cotton puffs
6.  2 bags of packing popcorn
7.  2 rolls of bubble wrap
8.  50 sheets of paper
9.  A ball of yarn or string
10.  Rubber pads and a bag of rubber bands
11.  Measuring tape to measure height for the drop
12.  10 small bottles of Elmer’s Glue
13.  10 rolls of masking or packaging tape

No sketch, self explanitory, you drop a box containing packing materials and an egg from 8 feet high.
 

6.How does your activity meet the requirements given above?

 The activity meets all of the requirements.  This activity can easily occupy 30 children since they all work in teams of 2 or 3.  Furthermore, the activity requires group cooperation, imaginative ideas, and allows children to physically and mentally become engineers.  Due to the hands on nature of the activity, the children easily learn what engineering is all about.  This activity is safe, portable, and can be conducted in an indoor classroom.