Egg dropping is probably the most versatile activity. Gravity can be taught in kindergarten, engineering in middle school, and physics in high school. (We even offer egg drops in professional development as a team-building activity!) If you’re looking for creative egg drop challenge ideas, our list will give you plenty of inspiration for every grade level.
What does the egg challenge teach?
It looks fun and the kids love it, but the egg challenge is more than just a filler activity. You can use the egg challenge to teach science, problem solving, or teamwork.
- In science, the egg challenge teaches students about gravity, force, and energy. Discuss how much force an egg can withstand when dropped, and how various ways of stuffing or protecting the egg affect how much force the egg actually feels.
- The Egg Challenge also teaches the engineering process, allowing students to understand a problem, design a prototype, test the prototype, and reflect on their tests.
- Use challenges to get students to practice teamwork. Students need collaboration and communication to design and test their prototypes, and self-control to stay calm when problems arise with the prototype.
1. The essential egg-dropping challenge
Watch our how-to video for simple step-by-step instructions on the intricacies of the Egg Drop Challenge! This video contains some fun ideas for spicing up an egg drop challenge, as well as some examples of how to make the best contraptions to hold eggs in place.
2. Disaster eggs drop
Add some real-life application to the egg-throwing challenge by having students imagine they are trying to deliver eggs to people experiencing a disaster. They must use items from the care package to package and attempt to deliver the eggs. This egg drop focuses on the change from potential energy to kinetic energy and how the energy moves when it hits the ground.
3. Parachute egg drop
Looking for ideas on proven methods for parachute egg drop? Give students a variety of materials—straws, popsicle sticks, paper, bags—and see who can create a parachute that will help the eggs float instead of splashing down.
4. Chunky Egg Drops
First, decorate an egg like Humpty Dumpty (smiley face, overalls). Then, fill the bag with different materials such as water beads, sand, pasta, and cotton balls. Put Humpty in and see which material protects him best.
5. Hot air balloon egg dropping
Make a basket out of paper cups, fruit baskets, or other containers. Then, use yarn to attach the “basket” to the balloon and see if the balloon will float lightly enough so that the egg doesn’t burst. You can try this in different types of weather to see what happens to the balloon and eggs when there is wind or no wind.
6. Crash Egg Race
In this version of the egg drop, build a cart for the eggs and send each egg down a ramp or route to see if the cart protects the eggs.
7. Oatmeal egg drop
Another lesson in how energy is absorbed. Place the eggs into the can and surround the can with soft cereal, such as popcorn. Try different grains and different packaging levels to see which protects the eggs best.
8. Dodecahedral egg drop
Make a dodecahedron with a straw, put an egg in the middle and lower it. Is the structure of the straw sufficient to protect the eggs from cracking? Bonus: Students learn geometry and the dodecahedron.
9. Foam Cup Egg Drops
Use Styrofoam cups to stack around the eggs. Place a heavy stone in the bottom of the first cup (the stone should be heavier than the egg). Then, place six more cups on top, place the eggs into the seventh cup, and cover the stack with the eighth cup. Tape the entire stack of tape together and lay it down.
10. Rubber Band Suspended Egg Drops
Hang the eggs with rubber bands and pantyhose to protect them. Do eggs bounce, wobble, or break when struck?
11. Paper straw egg drop
Sometimes, limited materials can stimulate students’ creativity. Give students only an egg, a piece of paper, and a pair of scissors. Then, see what they come up with.
12. Pringles will fall off
Pringles cans are the perfect size and shape to protect eggs. Use a cushion pad and pencil to hold the eggs in place.
13. Sponge egg drops
Make a hole in the middle of the sponge and place the egg in the hole. Then, use straw and tape to secure the eggs and see if the sponge softens the blow.
14. Paper bag parachute
Looking for more ideas for incorporating parachutes into your egg-dropping challenge? Place the eggs in a red Solo cup with some cushioning (shredded paper, cotton). Then, put a plastic bag over the cup and place it where the wind can blow the plastic bag.
15. Toilet Paper and Tape Egg Drops
Stuff the egg into a roll of toilet paper, wrap it in a cotton ball, and cover it with tape. You can use this strategy to drop eggs, or roll them off obstacles.
16. Oobleck Egg Challenge
For a multi-step and gooey method, make the ooblecks and cover the eggs in the ooblecks. Then, place the eggs in a cup with soft wrapping material (mini marshmallows, cotton balls). Cover the top with plastic wrap or tape and prepare to drop.
17. Dropped by delivery eggs
In this version, students build a “boat” to protect their eggs. Provide students with a range of materials such as popsicle sticks, straws, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, yarn, cotton balls, and sandwich bags. Then challenge them to build ships to protect their eggs.
18. Pond Noodles with Egg Drops
What not to do with pool noodles? Cut them into pieces and use duct tape to reinforce them. Tie them with a rubber band to form soft, spongy egg pods. Test which pool noodle protection methods keep eggs safe.
19. Toilet paper roll reinforcement
Use the toilet paper roll as a support to support and protect the egg, then use sponges and rubber bands to hold it together. The big question with this egg drop is whether it will float down or fall.
20. Water bag egg drop
What happens if you put an egg in a bag filled with water? First, have students hypothesize whether an egg will crack based on the amount of water in the bag. Then, test your hypothesis.
21. Enhanced Box Egg Drops
Discuss what it means to reinforce an object, then provide students with different ways to reinforce an egg in a box or jar (or a jar in a box).
22. Foam eggs
Cover the eggs with foam to see if it provides enough cushioning to prevent falling. If you don’t have foam, you can also try kinetic sand, play dough, or anything that will cover the eggs and absorb the impact.
23. Peanut Butter Jar Egg Drops
Place the eggs in the peanut butter jar, wrap it in paper towels, and secure it in the box. Then see if this prevents the eggs from cracking when dropped.
24. Balloon Egg Drops
Wrap the eggs in a balloon filled with beads to provide a softer landing.
25. Bungee egg drops
The event itself is not an egg drop. Students use rubber bands to create a bungee for an egg and predict how many rubber bands it will take to make the egg fall a certain length (perhaps 6 feet). This is a fun idea for students who are well versed in egg dropping.
26. Eggs falling in the backyard
Looking for ideas to make your egg-dropping project more challenging? Students were asked to find materials in nature—sticks, leaves, abandoned bird nests—to create their egg drop structures.
Get your free Egg Drop Challenge worksheet!
Click the button below to receive a free printable worksheet that you can use to accompany the egg-dropping challenge in your classroom. The worksheet includes a space for brainstorming egg drop designs, as well as a section for recording the results.
