Ashton Van Deventer’s “Challenger 2” survived every drop. (Photo by Ashton Van Deventer)(COVINGTON, La.) During a recent campus experiment, eggs fell from the sky. Well, from Hunter Stadium. Seniors in Rachel Peak’s Physics class tested out their creativity and understanding of physics through the classic Egg Drop project.
The task at hand: create a vessel that will protect an egg through three drops from the top of Hunter Stadium (about 30 feet). Sounds easy? Here’s where it gets tricky, students are only allowed to use toothpicks, rubber bands, toilet paper tubes and hot glue.
Cambre’s boat-shaped vessel, which survived two out of three drops. (Photo courtesy Mason Cambre)“I spent probably 15 hours building my vessel,” said Mason Cambre, who had the bags under his eyes to prove it. “I hardly got any sleep.” Cambre’s model was a massive, boat-shaped structure held together by toothpicks and rubber bands, with a hull made out of opened toilet paper tubes.
Cambre hiked to the top of the bleachers, hopeful of his hard work, then he dropped his contraption. Laughter exploded from 30 feet below as the impact of the rocks literally created an explosion of arts and crafts materials. While the structure was demolished, the egg was nothing short of perfectly intact.
On the other hand, National Merit finalist Matthew Borgatti walked into class with a parachuted vessel that looked as if it was right out of Da Vinci’s sketchbook. He dropped it, and what would you know, the egg cracked. Matthew then redeemed himself by surviving the next two drops. Everyone was shocked when the soon-to-be Valedictorian’s egg cracked the first time, and it certainly did not settle the nerves of other students following him.
Luc Hebert’s “Daisy Cutter” survived all three drops. (Photo by Luc Hebert)For two weeks, students worried profusely over one of the most fragile subjects known to man: the humble shell of an egg. While the shell serves as a protective boundary for developing creatures, it ironically enough served as the boundary between the prosperity of an A, and the crushing blow of a C. In the end, students not only enjoyed the project, but managed to be successful in the process.