Young students explore science

On June 11, second and fifth graders from Golden Hill Elementary School came together to test their building and science skills during the annual egg drop. Their one collective goal: Keep the egg safe.

A few weeks earlier, students were asked to start thinking about the types of things may keep an egg safe from breaking. Next, they collected and brought in recycled materials to prep for the official drop day.

The egg drop project falls under an English Language Arts (ELA) general standard that says students should be able to “engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners; express ideas clearly and persuasively, and build on those of others.”

When it was time to meet with their teammates, many of the skills they learned in ELA came into practice. Students had to work as a team, actively listening, collaborating and compromising.

“An obstacle that often comes up is the second graders are not as patient, and the fifth graders struggle with giving up the control, so myself and the second grade teacher will walk around checking in with the groups,” Noreen Meehan, a fifth grade teacher, said. “Sometimes a student doesn’t feel they are being heard by the group and we will help navigate that situation.”

Before long, it’s drop day. The students meet outside and get their contraptions ready to go through three drops with an egg tucked safely inside of it. One drop is from the top of the slide, another from a ledge at the top of a staircase, and the last one from a second-story rescue window.

“3, 2, 1: Drop that egg!” the students yelled, each time filled with just as much as the first. Everyone held their breath as they waited to discover if the egg cracked on the pavement or the contraptions did their jobs.

After all the eggs had been dropped, the students gathered to discuss what went right and what went wrong. One student related the structure of his contraption to a helmet and padding he’d wear on a bike or skateboard.

“The fifth graders remember it from when they were in second grade and always ask if they will be doing it again as fifth graders as early as September,” Meehan said. “I always feel the students love this activity and I don’t see a time when I will not do it.”