Egg Drop Challenge – Engineering for a Safe Baby Landing

In this exciting investigation, students take on the role of young engineers. The goal of the Egg Drop Challenge is to design a machine that will bring the “baby” (an egg) safely back to Earth without cracking when it is dropped from a height. 

Through this activity, students explore how thoughtful design, creativity, and testing can help solve real-world problems.

Using the IB Experiment Design Cycle, students follow a series of steps that guide their learning and help them improve their ideas.

Plan

Students begin by thinking about the problem: How can we protect the egg during the drop? They brainstorm ideas, discuss possible materials, and draw a design of their machine. At this stage, students think carefully about how their design might slow down the fall or cushion the landing.

Create

Next, students build their egg protection machine using selected materials. This is an opportunity for them to work collaboratively, apply their plans, and turn their ideas into a real structure that will hold and protect the egg.

Test

Once the designs are ready, students test their machines by dropping them from a set height. During the test, they observe what happens and check whether the egg lands safely or if improvements are needed.

Improve

After testing, students reflect on the results. They discuss what worked well and what could be improved. Students then redesign or adjust their machines to make them stronger, safer, and more effective for the next test.

Through this challenge, students develop important skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. They also learn that mistakes and improvements are a valuable part of the learning process—just like real engineers and scientists who continue refining their designs to achieve success.

Throughout the activity, students discovered that a successful design does not always happen on the first try. Testing their machines allowed them to see what worked well and what needed to change. Some designs protected the egg by slowing down the fall, while others used soft materials or creative structures to absorb the impact. Each test gave students new information that helped them improve their designs.

In the end, the Egg Drop Challenge showed students how curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving can help us design solutions that keep our “baby” egg safe on its journey back to Earth. It also helped students build confidence in thinking new ideas and discoveries to respond to our needs.