Ask Ollie
Egg Drop Lander Challenge
Here's one to try together!
Can your lander bring a raw egg safely back to Earth? Build, drop, and find out!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- falling or climbing risk if children stand on furniture or ladders to drop the lander
- dropping from the top of the stairs requires an adult to stand safely
What you need
- Eggs, 1 raw egg per builder
- Paper, 2 sheets per builder
- Painter's tape, arm's length per builder
- Plate or tray, 1 tray
- Crayons or markers, 1 per builder (optional)
- Dish soap, a squirt for hand washing (optional)
- Water, a bowl for hand washing (optional)
- Straws, 5 per builder, or pencils
- Plastic bag, 1 per builder
- Paper towels, a few
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Set out one raw egg per builder and the build kit. Choose a safe drop spot, and stay on the floor or the stair landing yourself. Kids never climb or stand on furniture.
- Sketch your lander plan on paper before you build anything.
- Build the lander frame from straws, taping the pieces together.
- Fold paper into a crumple zone around the egg.
- Turn the plastic bag into a parachute and tape it on.
- Hand your lander to a grown-up for the big drop over the tray. A grown-up does thisAsk: Will your egg survive the landing? What makes you think so?
- Look closely at your egg and see where it hit.
- Rebuild your lander and test it again. Ask: What is one thing you will change to protect your egg even better?
- Wash your hands with soap and water after touching the raw egg.
- Now challenge your friends, or drop from a new height! Whose lander will win? Ask: What did you learn about how the parachute and paper cushion helped?
Play it again
- Tiny kit: build with only 3 straws and 1 sheet of paper.
- Slow motion: whose parachute takes the longest to land?
- Team lander: two builders share one egg and one kit.
Kids loved this? There are more where it came from.
Get 3 free ideas a dayTurn "I'm bored" into "let's do something together!" 3 free ideas a day, picked for your kids.