Egg drop project

Last Friday Night: The Egg Drop Project

Last week was a pretty stressful one at the office. So I figured: what better way to unwind than to give the team a chance to throw eggs out of a third storey window?
Allow me to explain, starting with the disclaimer that no roads or cars were vandalised during this activity.
The Egg Drop Project is a classic, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already heard of it. The group is split into teams of 3/4, and each is given a raw egg and a limited selection of materials to choose from. The point is to build a structure using those materials that will keep the egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height.

Round 1: Easy

Teams could choose a maximum of 12 items from the following:

  • 2 balloons
  • a handful of cotton wool
  • a handful of polystyrene thingamagigs
  • 1 cardboard cup
  • 30cm of masking tape
  • 1 straw
  • 1 kebab stick
  • 1 sheet of newspaper
  • 1 rubber band
  • 3 squares of toilet paper
  • 1 plastic bag
  • 1m of cling film

Two of the teams opted to bundle up their egg in as many layers as possible before placing it between two semi-inflated balloons, providing protection from absolutely every angle. The third team went for a contraption that will maximise bounce on impact while preventing the egg cup from hitting the ground. Check out the super anxious moments of tension, captured only minutes before the great egg drop:
Egg drop at Switch, digital and brand agency in Malta, Team 1: Tom, Melissa, Mike and Bre

Team 1: Tom, Melissa, Mike and Bre

Egg drop project at Switch, Team 2: Kristie, Roderick and Craig

Team 2: Kristie, Roderick and Craig

Egg drop at Switch, digital and brand agency in Malta, Team 3: Andrea, Rik, Matt and Tina

Team 3: Andrea, Rik, Matt and Tina

The time had come. There was no going back. It was out the balcony, one contraption at a time, waiting to be inspected by the anxious team members waiting in the street below. You could cut the tension with a knife. Whose egg would survive the fall? Whose dreams would be smashed into a mess of yellow slime?
Egg drop at Switch, digital and brand agency in Malta
As it turns out: nobody’s. All 3 eggs returned safe and sound, with not so much as a crack to prove that they’d just fallen 3 storeys. Ah well – on to round 2!

Round 2: Not-so-easy

This time, the teams could only choose 10 items from the following:

  • 1 rubber band
  • 1 straw
  • 1 kebab stick
  • 10cm of masking tape
  • 2 squares of toilet paper
  • 1 sheet of newspaper

Things just got real serious. Ideas included:
Egg drop tutorial, Switch
None of which were any good, I’m afraid. All three packages hit the ground with an almighty splat that was heard all the way up in the boardroom.
So yeah – no clear winners, no clear losers, but a pretty fun session nonetheless.
Omelette, anyone?

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