Summary: A team building exercise in which groups build structures and try to prevent an egg from breaking. A judge tosses all structures (with the eggs inside) from a high elevation at the end. The winners are the groups that successfully protect the egg.
Ages: 14 and up. Recommended # of People: Several groups of 4-5. Messiness Factor: Quite messy. Materials required: Raw eggs, several straws, masking tape, newspaper, and any other materials for building.
The Great Egg Drop
Instructions
The Great Egg Drop is a teambuilding activity that involves creativity and problem solving given a set of resources. To begin, assemble groups of 4 or 5 and give each group various materials for building (e.g. 5-20 straws, a roll of masking tape, one fresh egg, newspaper, etc.). Alternatively, you can give no materials and ask the participants to find materials from outdoors, but this increases the difficulty level significantly. Instruct the participants and give them a set amount of time (e.g. 30 minutes) to complete building a structure, with the egg inside. When time expires, collect all structures and then dramatic finale in which the structures are dropped from at least 10 feet in elevation and then inspected to see if the eggs survived. The winners are the groups that were successful in protecting the egg. Many variations are possible — additional constraints, for example. This activity is useful to illustrate the importance of team and to highlight aspects of project management.
