Making a parachute to save the egg!

On the first day of the unSCHOOL workshop at Sayaji Club, Indore, the children were given the task of making a parachute to land a raw egg safely on the ground from the first floor. The activity looks deceptively simple. But going by the fact that only one group out of seven managed to get it right the first time, you could give it a serious try at home! I borrowed the activity from a training workshop I had attended earlier by Yardstick. We added some bit of our wisdom to it this time.

Here's the activity in detail:

Activity Objective:

To build a parachute to land a raw egg safely on the ground from about 15 feet height (or higher)

Learning objectives:

1. Understand air pressure and how it can be used while making a parachute
2. Explore different parachute designs and find the most suitable one

Material needed:

• Large polythene bag
• Raw egg (or ripe tomato or any delicate object that may break on falling)
• Thread
• Cello-tape
• Plastic disposable cup

Process:

A parachute works by increasing the surface area of an object so it has more contact with the wind, which decreases the speed of the object. 

Ask the children to make groups of 2-3, and think about any parachutes they had seen in actual or in pictures or movies. Then they should draw the picture of what they want to make.  They should discuss the size and shape of the polythene, length of thread and the height from which they will drop the parachute. They should also think about how the egg should be placed in the cup. Encourage them to experiment with various factors and not be afraid of breaking the egg.

Factors to be varied and studied:

1. Changing the payload weight
2. Lengthening or shortening the length of the suspension lines
3. Changing the number of suspension lines
4. Increasing or decreasing the radius of the parachute
5. Cutting holes and/or slits in the parachute fabric
6. Shape of the parachute fabric- square, circle
7. Fabric- polythene, cloth (wet/ dry)

This is how it went!

Making the parachute together

Making the perfect parachute!

Tying up the threads

Waiting for the parachute drop

And here's how we broke 6 eggs before saving the 7th!

Further references:

1.       For some theory on parachutes: http://www.pcprg.com/sptp.htm

2.       To calculate the diameter of the parachute needed: http://celtickane.com/projects/rocketry/project-i-a-successful-parachute/math-and-theory/