Egg Drop - Maker movement and Active Learning

Will it Break?

On a gorgeous sunny day, amidst the beautiful Charlotte Center City skyline, sixth graders got a chance to be outside proving their STEM engineering, STEAM and maker skills with the annual Egg Drop. Mr. Clark was on the rooftop and Ms. Burick was manning the megaphone down below as Mr. Miller organized the crowd gathered to watch their classmates inventions. Extra credit was offered if an egg drop contraption could land and then keep moving uphill Mars-Rover style. Students got a chance to realize how hard it really is to be a NASA engineer. This is 6th grade rocket science, people!  Here are a few photos starring:
Mr. Miller
Mr. Clark
Ms. Burick
and the entire team of Piedmont 6th grader scientists!

The crowd anxiously awaits Care Bear's return to Earth.

And he makes it safely down, with his egg securely cushioned!

Checking out Mr. Carebear after he survived his drop successfully!

Recycling the eggs that survived the drop!

Mr. Clark's launch helpers enjoy the panoramic views!

Extra credit if the eggdrop can go "Mars Rover" and move after landing!

Pre-Launch preparations of the landing gear!

Launch helpers ready Jamie's design for the drop, egg securely inside and intact, for now.

And here it goes!

Last-minute structural engineering!

Ms.Lyttle and Mr. Miller keep the ground crew under control with Ms. Howard as they await news of one egg's fate from Ms. Burick's egg check station.

You can never have too much tape when you are dropping something off a tall building!

The thrill of victory!

This group's egg drop container was a crowd favorite!

A sampling of all the great designs!

Ms Gurthie's Soapbox commentary:
Being at Piedmont makes me feel so sorry for all those kids who are cooped up inside bored to tears in pencil pushing worksheet driven classes for the sake of some teacher or bureaucrat's misguided idea of what "rigor" looks like. Thank you, 6th grade Science teachers! I am so glad that "rigorous educational challenge" to you means real-world exciting challenge not dull eyed quiet mindless compliance!