THE EGG DROP PROJECT

PictureExeter P.S., site of Revington's first Egg Drop.
The Egg Drop Project started out as an experiment at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Lab in the 1950s. The objective was to  land a fragile object, an egg, when dropped from a great height. As time would reveal this experiment was a precursor to landing extremely expensive remote controlled rovers on Mar's surface to collect data. The experiment took place at the Rose Bowl Stadium as capsules carrying raw eggs were dropped from a helicopter 1500 feet above the stadium's turf. The Egg Drop Project had been born!

In 1984, teacher Steve Revington viewed a PBS documentary which showed a same-day egg capsule drop activity being completed. Steve decided he'd give it a go and challenged his grade eight science students to take on the same task. There were some that made it, some that didn't, but one fact became very clear - the learning potential that this project offered was immense.

Egg Drops have been a popular activity but the curriculum connections and the possibilities of applied learning this activity possessed helped Revington to pioneer a new approach to learning. Over the next thirty years The Egg Drop Project snowballed, collecting new ideas, new processes of presenting science and technology until it reached its' present day form. The Egg Drop Project was "a launching pad" for a new model of learning which Revington termed "Authentic Learning".  This site provides an in depth template of Steve Revington's Egg Drop Project using his authentic learning model.

WHY AUTHENTIC LEARNING?

The Egg Drop Project is an excellent example of an authentic learning event. Authentic learning provides students with an opportunity to engage in multi-sensory learning that creates  a tangible, quality product/outcome for an audience beyond the classroom. Revington has identified twelve essentials that are inherent in creating an authentic initiative.  Please visit authenticlearning.weebly.com for more details.

THE MISSION

Students are to create a capsule to protect a raw egg when dropped from four storys (or more) onto hard pavement. The capsule must have a hatch (door) and a latch (simple locking mechanism) and can be no larger than 40 cm X 40 cm. Parachutes in our events are not prohibited to encourage a scientific understanding of recoil, crumple zones and air friction (drag).

NOTE

As one can see in the school picture above, The Egg Drop Project started modestly. It should be implemented in a comfortable, well managed and realistic way that nurtures build-in success for every student. The hydro truck, large audience Egg Drop Day presentations evolved over thirty years so don't get overwhelmed. By using this site as a working template it is hoped that educators can explore this initiative's vast educational potential. 

THE STAGES

As with any authentic learning initiative, The Egg Drop Project is an integrated learning unit that extracts expectations from the regional curriculum, life skills and outlying skills that are relevant in supporting the student's success. EDP (Egg Drop Project) requires at least a month to complete this effectively. This site targets junior/middle school levels but can be easily adapted to younger or older age levels given age/development appropriateness. Four development stages, a school week each have been designated.

The stages are:
Egg Awareness (Parenting A Baby Egg) 
Design & Blueprints
Construction
The Eggsibitions
The Drop (The ceremony).

Each stage will be discussed in more detail on this site.

ABOUT THIS SITE

This site was created to provide educators with a template to re-create their own Egg Drop Projects. Steve observed the optimal learning that this style of learning provided his students, regardless of their backgrounds and encourages educators to experiment with this style of learning.