Firefights help crack eggs for science
A record six teams survived the annual Egg Crash Challenge at Barker Middle School this year!
Amy Hamann, STEM teacher at Barker, organizes this activity each year and invites schools and local businesses to design and create a device that will allow a raw egg to survive a fall from several feet high without cracking. But they were only allowed to use certain materials: 3 file folders, 4 bendy straws, 30cm of masking tape, 60cm of string, 3 sheets of paper, 2 rubber bands, and a plastic bag.
Twenty-six teams survived preliminary rounds to compete in the finals, held at Barker Middle School with the help of the Michigan City Fire Department. Firefighters dropped the eggs, cradled in their student-designed devices, first from 50 feet high, then 75 feet, and finally from 100 feet high for the final round.
After three rounds of “egg crashes” there were six teams remaining to share the first-place title. The teams were: Mr. Olson’s CREW class (Barker, 7th grade); Taliyah and Tationna (Lake Hills, 6th grade); Bryson, Jack, and Justin (Lake Hills, 6th grade); Paige, Sha’Kyrai, Mya, and Prentess (Pine, 6th grade); Asia T., Diana, Mia, and Asia P. (Pine, 6th grade); and Sullair Corporation, which was also invited to participate with the students.
Hamann said there is so much to learn from this type of hands-on learning.
“The ‘Egg Crash’ introduces students not only to the engineering design process, but also the technology that is created and used in career fields such as Vehicle Crash Test Engineer, Engineering Test Technicians, Crash Safety Test Engineer, Crash Prep Quality Coordinator, and Aerospace Engineer to name just a few,” she said. “It introduces students to using engineering within the real world and future careers. They also learn 21st-century skills - critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. These skills are used in ANY career field and are also important life skills.”
More information about Barker Middle School, which is an Indiana STEM-certified school, is available by visiting www.mcas.k12.in.us/barker.