An EGG-cellent afternoon

Once we were back in school after Guided Home Learning, we decided that it would be a good idea for the pupils in Year 7 to have an afternoon away from their usual lessons and to spend time working in groups to get used to the idea of collaboration and teamwork again in person; something that had been sorely missed over lockdown 3. Below are four reports from some wonderful volunteers from each of the Year 7 forms. I hope you enjoy reading about the Great Egg Drop Challenge in the newspaper style reports from Year 7 below.

7B – By Isabelle and Ella

Year 7 took part in a challenge where they had to make a container that could make sure if an egg was dropped from a big height it would not crack. We had to make the container out of straws, masking tape, rubber bands and anything else we could find. My group’s container was successful and our egg did not crack. We decided to make a parachute so it would fall down slower. Some people even used umbrellas for their parachute. Unfortunately, some peoples’ eggs cracked but in the end our form won!! None of our eggs had cracked! However, that wasn’t the whole point about this challenge. All that actually mattered was that everyone had fun and enjoyed collaborating with other students. Thank you to all the teachers who organised this event for us. We all really appreciate it since we are all still getting used to the idea being back at school.

7M – By Chloë

Year 7 spent an afternoon creating vessels sturdy and safe enough for an egg to land in. Even though Year 7 only had straws, tape and rubber bands the girls got creative using shopping bags and umbrellas that they had with them. They only had one hour and a half to create their eggsellent vessels. An extra challenge was added when the forms were told that Mrs Turner would have to be able to take the egg out of their compartment and put it back in before being dropped. This caused some problems as some eggs had been put in blankets of tape. All the forms then assembled in the hall to drop their eggs. Many eggs survived with just a few cracking casualties.

7H – By Claire, Charlotte and  Fitnet

On the morning of Wednesday 11th March we got told by our form tutors that afternoon lessons were cancelled and we were going to be doing ‘organised fun’. We were all sceptical of what would consist of this said fun but were overjoyed with the task we were allotted.

We were told we would be doing an egg drop challenge. This consisted of constructing a sturdy protective object to withstand an eight foot drop without letting the egg inside crack. We were put into groups of three or four, and were given straws, masking tape, rubber bands and anything else we had on us. We were given an hour and a half to complete this task and by the end of this time we were all feeling fairly confident with our designs.

All of year seven made their way to the hall where Mrs Turner was waiting from the balcony above. We lined up in our forms to test our structures and were met with delight to find that the majority of our group’s eggs did not crack. Mr Baker was in charge of breaking the disappointing news if our eggs had broken.

Overall this task was a great way to break the ice after coming back from a long break away from school.

7S – By Brooke , Elana and Poppy

Our form tutors assigned us our teams of 3 and we had an anonymous challenge a foot! We were very excited to see our task, as we were each handed a slip of paper, Sellotape, straws and rubber bands, the rest was up to us! The challenge was to create a mechanism that could save our egg from an unpleasant fall. Each team had their own unique strategy and for the first 20 minutes of our time we all got to work on designing a structure for our invention. Then the fun really got better, we all began creating our plans. Some teams went for something safe like a box, others went completely beyond creative like using an umbrella! Everyone’s ideas were different from the other groups, all turning out to be amazing.

Most of our ideas were built and it was time to test them out. We headed to the hall in anticipation, wondering if our eggs would survive the tragic fall. Form by form, our eggs were dropped, and the best designs lasted. Unfortunately, most of the contraptions failed. 7B went first, then 7H, then 7M, and then it was us. We were last, which gave us a lot of time to worry. The best idea we saw was an umbrella egg holder that survived the fall very well.

If you want to try this unusual yet fun challenge at home, this is what you will need: a chicken egg, paper straws, Sellotape, rubber bands and anything else that you think will make your structure prevent the egg from cracking. Also, make sure you have a platform that you don’t mind getting dirty just in case your egg cracks! You can also try and make different structures and experiment to find out which structure worked best (if you have enough supplies to spare!)  Good luck and have fun! Thank you and we hope you enjoyed reading.

Mrs Turner