September 3, 2015

Arlington Heights, IL – The entire fifth grade student body gathered outside, glaring to the sky, in anticipation.

The students have waited five years for this day, and the moment was now.

“One….Two….Three……..GO!” everyone yelled in unison. Principal Becky FitzPatrick obliged, dropping a well engineered egg capsule made from bendy straws, a piece of paper and masking tape off the roof at Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary, to land safely on the ground.

The excited Owl students clapped and cheered for the team who was able to protect their egg from the fall.

Today was Egg Drop Day, a tradition unlike any other at Olive.

“It’s sort of a right of passage here at Olive,” Principal FitzPatrick said. “These students hear about their siblings or friends who have done it and they can’t wait to get to fifth grade for this project.”

Egg Drop Day is 18 years old at Olive-Mary Stitt. It teaches the students how to problem solve, collaborate, be creative and it teaches the concept of trial and error.

“Whether the egg broke, or survived, we can learn something from each one of these designs, can’t we?” asked Mr. Edstrom, fifth grade teacher at Olive. “We can notice what worked and what didn’t and build something safer for the egg in the future.”

The students were asked to design and build something that can hold an egg and prevent it from breaking when dropped off the ledge in the commons, and then off Olive’s roof. The only supplies that could be used were twenty plastic straws, one piece of white paper and two meters of masking tape. The students were broken up into teams and then given forty-five minutes to complete the task.

Then the main event began. The 100 plus fifth graders went to the commons and watched as capsules such as E.F.O. (Egg Flight Protection) and Eggsperience were dropped to the floor. Some worked, and some failed, but the students were taking notes and intrigued by either result.

“We had the most eggs ever make it to the roof round,” Principal FitzPatrick said. “These kids were ready today. There was a buzz and excitement in the halls as they were working on their creations.”

Four eggs made it to the sidewalk safely, but fun was had by all and a lesson or two was learned.