On Jan. 13, Marcy McCormick’s FOS 3 classes participated in the iconic egg drop experiment. Students were assigned to create a vehicle that would serve in protecting the egg from three different dropping heights: one meter, two meters and two and a half meters. 

But to put a chemistry twist on the experiment, students were required to create a reaction between baking soda and vinegar in order to inflate a plastic bag. The bag was then used to create extra protection for the egg sitting inside the vehicle. To ensure that the airbag was the main shield of protection for the egg, the egg would have to be able to crack if there was no airbag attached.

“We made a little box out of cardboard and then put part of an egg carton in there to hold the egg in, while it sat on top of our airbag,” Eva Beals said, a Junior at CHS. “Our vehicle worked really well during our test runs, but it broke on the first drop for the actual experiment, which was pretty disappointing.”

The FOS 3 egg drop is an experiment McCormick and her fellow FOS 3 teacher, Liz Stern, designed on their own. 

“We wanted a way to have students apply everything they’ve learned, and I coached Science Olympiad for seven years, and I wanted it to have that kind of Science Olympiad and competition feel,” McCormick said. “So about 10 years ago, we sat down and came up with it from scratch, and I just love it.”

Gallery • 6 Photos