Tyner students stand by the Station 8 firetruck before dropping their eggs from the 40-foot ladder.Eighth-graders at Tyner Middle Academy partnered with Chattanooga Station 8 Firefighters for a unique project: an egg drop contest from the top of a firetruck’s 40-foot ladder.
The contest was dreamed up by teachers Lora Aycock and Jennifer Kearns, to combine classroom learning with real world experience with the engineer design process, plus, a meet-and-greet with firefighters.
“The kids were allowed to use almost anything to make their egg apparatus within a certain size parameter,” Aycock said.
With 10 days to build, students were able to imagine their creation, draw it, create it, test it and modify it, she added.
“We wanted them to learn how to research,” she explained. “That was the whole process we tried to teach them. They learned about force and motion, the power of gravity, air resistance and inertia.”
Of the 135 eggs dropped, an even dozen remained intact without any cracks after Station 8’s Capt. Terri Roshell, Lt. Chad Mansfield and firefighter Daaron Espy dropped them one by one from the ladder.
“I think watching the firemen drop it was the best part for them,” said Aycock. “They were just awesome with the kids.”