For today’s activity, we did a little more of a science experiment with both classes. The goal was to create a parachute and holder for an egg so that it wouldn’t break when we dropped them. We handed out paper bags for the parachute, strings and ribbons, egg carton pieces, tape, and bubble wrap. The classes split into groups and constructed the egg parachutes together.
Overall, this activity worked really well for the older class. Not one of the eggs broke! For most groups, their strategy was to put as many layers of tape around the egg as they could before time was up. They were all very engaged in this activity and worked well together in their groups.
The younger class struggled a little more with building the parachute. They all wanted to make their own, so making them work together in groups caused some tension. This was a good teamwork activity, though. It taught them that sometimes they need to work together to get things done on time or make the work easier. It also taught them that they each could have a role in the team. Some were instantly the leader, others the decorator, and some the strategist. They were more excited for the decorating, so when the time came for us to drop the eggs, they had awesome, colorful parachutes but not enough safety for the egg. This caused some to break, but they were still very optimistic and took the parachutes home to continue improving them.
