Protect your egg

You’ll need

Cotton wool balls
Scissors
Sticky tape
Eggs
Newspaper
Bubble wrap
Cotton wool
Egg boxes
Packing peanuts
Sticky tape
Cloths
Disinfectant spray

Before you begin

Set out enough tables so there’s one for each group (where people are in groups of between three and five people).
Put an identical set of equipment and materials on each table.
Make sure you have enough helpers for each team.
Make sure you have some spare eggs, in case any of the teams break theirs while trying to protect it.

Protect the egg

The person leading the activity should show everyone how easily an egg breaks by cracking it into a bowl or dropping it onto a table.

Everyone should split into small groups; each group should go to a table.
Each group should touch and feel the materials on their table and decide together which ones they’ll use to protect their egg.
Each group should work together to protect their egg.

Test the egg protection

Everyone should gather together. The person leading the activity should cover the drop zone with some newspaper to make it easier to clean up any mess.
Everyone should stand back from the drop zone (and the splash zone!). They should count down from three to zero.
When everyone reaches zero, the person leading the activity should drop the egg from at least two metres high.

Everyone should count down before the person leading the game drops each egg. The person leading the activity should drop all of the eggs from the same height.
The person leading the activity should check all of the eggs for damage. Everyone should talk about which materials worked best.
If there’s time, people may want to protect another egg in their teams. Can they use what they’ve learned about materials and techniques to make the best possible protection?

Reflection

This activity needed everyone to work together as a team to solve a problem and make decisions. How did each team approach the task? Did they make a plan before they started making anything, or did they get hands on right away? If people were going to protect another egg, would they do anything differently? What sorts of things help a team to work together well? Everyone should take it in turns to share one thing they did well in this challenge. People may be proud of themselves for making decisions, listening to their friends, coming up with a new idea, or testing something to see if it works. Wearing the protection everyone made helped to keep the eggs safe. Do people ever wear similar protection? People may say that people wear protection (such as helmets) for activities such as cycling or scooting.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Scissors: Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
Rubbish and recycling: All items should be clean and suitable for this activity.
Food: Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.