Egg drop competitions are fun, educational science projects for students in any grade. Even college students enjoy the challenge of dropping an egg in a protective covering off of a roof and seeing if the egg survives the journey. Egg drop devices are made out of any type of material. The key to a successful egg drop is having the right matter that serves as a shock absorber and protects the egg when it hits the ground. Try different materials, and see which one makes the best egg drop device.

Fill a quart plastic bag half full of Styrofoam packing peanuts, and place a raw egg in the middle. Fill the rest of the bag with Styrofoam packing peanuts. Seal the plastic bag. Fill a box three times the size of the quart bag with packing peanuts, and place the plastic bag in the center. Fill the rest of the box, and seal it shut with duct tape or masking tape. The double layer of Styrofoam works as a shock absorber for the egg.

Use a large plastic jar of peanut butter as an egg drop device. Hollow out an opening in the center of the jar of peanut butter large enough for the egg. Slide the raw egg in the opening, and refill the jar with peanut butter. Screw the lid back on the jar. The peanut butter and plastic jar act as the shock absorber for the egg, keeping it from bursting open on impact.

Get a pillow that is tightly filled with stuffing. Create a hole on one end, and push an opening into the stuffing using your hand. Slide the raw egg into the middle of the pillow through the opening. If it’s a feather pillow, a hard impact may still explode the egg. The density of the feathers causes a stronger impact. A pillow filled with fiber-fill protects the egg better, but the best pillow is one filled with cut up pieces of foam rubber. Each individual piece of foam rubber serves as a mini-shock absorber surrounding the egg and protecting it from damage.

A Leonardo da Vinci style egg drop device uses a stick framed box with the egg suspended in the center of the box frame. The egg is suspended using rubber bands, and the box has a parachute attached that softens the impact. This design is very successful in egg drops. The eggs in the Leonardo da Vinci design usually survive the drop because the design has several things working together that protect the egg. The frame acts as the outer layer of protection, the rubber bands act as a shock absorber and the parachute slows the fall’s speed and softens the impact.