What Goes Up...

By Tracey K., Parent
 

Egg Drop 2017

On top of a 25 foot scissor lift on March 31st, balloons and parachutes attached to fragile packages will await their turn. Some will be wrapped in layers of bubble wrap. Others might be shoved into jars, or in boxes of all shapes and sizes. Cotton balls and marshmallows will come in handy on this day. And, sitting anxiously on the blacktop below, hopeful students will be delighted to discover if their theories prove correct. Science meets art every year in the Village Egg Drop.

If you’re unfamiliar with this popular STEAM activity, students are challenged to design a contraption using various materials to protect an egg for a high fall. At Village, the egg drop is not just a physics lesson — it’s also a lesson in collaboration, creativity, design and theory. The annual event is one of Village’s most memorable and fun traditions.

On the morning of the Egg Drop, classes will make their way to the blacktop to find an unusual piece of equipment awaiting them. For some of the younger students, the sight of an industrial scissor lift might be exciting enough in and of itself. But there’s more! After saying a few words, Principal David will rise up 25 feet as the lift carries him and a bucket of carefully packed eggs into the air.

One by one the egg contraptions will be dropped to the pavement. And one by one, students will check their work. Some will be thrilled to see them crack — even hoping they’ll explode into a gooey mess. Others will breathe a sigh of relief to see the shell still intact. All will have a great time watching, learning, and plotting their approach for next year.

I had the privilege of researching a bit of Village history by flipping through scrapbooks and yearbooks in preparation of our 20th anniversary event last year. My own kids were amused to see an early photo from the egg drop, which showed the eggs about to be thrown from what appears to be a lowly 6-foot ladder. Later photos show them being tossed from the roof of the school building. But nothing, in my mind, compares to the thrill of watching Principal David, safely positioned on the platform of the lift, as he slowly rises superhero-style up into the air.

And as an excited and anxious crowd below cheers him on, his precious cargo of raw eggs — wrapped in creativity and hope — will dramatically make their journey both up… and down again.