Last week I was invited to participate in Ms. French’s science class’s egg drop contest. This contest consisted of each participant having to make something to put an egg in and then drop it out of the classroom window two stories high to the ground below. The idea was to make something in which your egg would survive the drop out of the window. If it survived without breaking you were successful. If it didn’t, you had a nice start for a scrambled egg breakfast.

I got to experience first hand the interaction of students, student aides and teacher in this class. I also got to see what each of them had come up with for their egg drop entry. One thing I forgot to mention was that the materials available for this project were limited and the same for all participants. This meant each participant had to be creative in their design and think through what materials might best cushion the fall. I will be the first to admit that the students had much more creative designs than mine.

Needless to say, the students were excited about dropping the eggs out of the window. Nobody knew who might be successful in their design for something that would allow their egg to safely land in one piece. But it was fun witnessing the friendly exchange between participants as they proclaimed they had made the winner.

Finally, it was time to actually drop our eggs out of the science classroom window to determine once and for all who made something to keep their egg from being scrambled upon impact with the ground below. In the end, a few of the designs provided the protection necessary for the egg to survive two drops out of the window without damage. I didn’t have the overall winner but mine did make the loudest thud when it hit the ground! I thought that should count for something. But in the official rules a loud thud didn’t win any points.

My experience with this class showed me how our teachers create lesson plans to teach our students about various academic subjects and at the same time make it fun. I know the students will remember this lesson for a long time. I know I’ll remember how the students joked with me about how loud my entry was! I also know that every school day our teachers have the best interest of our students at heart and want to do what they can to help them learn and expand their knowledge as individuals.

I learned some new things about some of our students that day. I also had fun being part of the group lesson and activity. To top it all off, I got to have scrambled eggs!

Have a good week everyone!

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