Competitors in the Lucerne Valley Virtual Academy 2023 Egg Drop Challenge display their certificates. A number of entries were successfully landed without cracking. Photo courtesy Mr. Eller
On the surface, the Virtual Academy’s annual Egg Drop contest is a fun challenge that has a number of unique student designs launching and falling to the ground below. But it teaches elementary school aged students so much more.
The goal of the challenge was to learn how Virtual Academy class subjects that emphasized engineering, physics, and math could be used to safely land a fragile raw chicken egg. So on Thursday, April 6th, Virtual Academy teacher Mrs. Mary Eller conducted the 2022-23 Egg Drop Competition with several students seeing their raw chicken egg creations surviving the roughly 10-foot fall from the teacher’s top-of-a-ladder perch.
Prior to landing (either gently or with an ominous thud or whack), students were asked to predict whether the design would survive intact. Awards were given to smallest entry, lightest entry, most creative entry, speed reduction entry, mechanical entry and cushioning entry.
This year’s contestants were Annabelle, Hunter, June, Serenity G. Madelynn, Allan, Austin, Celeste, Serenity M. and Jase.
Photos by Peter Day
