[broost3r]

i've done this experiment 2 years in a row with my youngest kiddo as a STEM challenge in elementary school. i thought we got pretty close this year with using heavy duty sponges, paper plates, and a parachute, but was always operating under the assumption that the egg needs to be vertical. i'm excited to try again next year after reading this.

oh and at our school, they bring in a big bucket truck from the local power company and send the teachers up to the top with the devices and let them drop them :)

[slavik81]

Get a block of styrofoam, slice it in two, and carve out a hole between the blocks exactly the size and shape of your egg. Tape the blocks together with the egg in the centre.

It is incredibly effective to have a solid surface in contact with the whole shell. And, the outer styrofoam will absorb the worst of the landing. It's also very light, so it minimizes the energy that must be dissipated.

Lesson learned from my failed attempt at the egg drop in high school. The guy with the styrofoam absolutely destroyed everyone at that challenge.

[dmonitor]

Even simpler: A barrel of water densified such that the egg floats in the middle

[asielen]

The one time I did it in highschool I suspended the egg in a small cloth bag within a box. No padding just the secure cloth bag attached to the inside corners of the box with taut twine. Egg survived the 3 story drop easily, even was fine when we kicked it around afterwards.