Egg Drop Challenge
Teams engineer protective structures to prevent eggs from breaking when dropped from height. Classic STEM challenge combining creativity, engineering thinking, and teamwork under time pressure.
30-45 min
8-50 people
high
props
About This Game
The Egg Drop Challenge is an iconic team building activity that transforms simple materials into an engineering competition. Each team receives identical supplies - straws, tape, newspaper, cardboard, rubber bands - and one raw egg. Their mission: design and build a protective structure that will keep the egg intact when dropped from a significant height (8-12 feet typically). Teams have 20-25 minutes to strategize, prototype, and construct their contraption. The activity unfolds in phases: initial brainstorming where teams debate approaches (padding vs. parachute vs. suspension system), rapid prototyping where ideas meet reality and compromises happen, construction sprint as time pressure mounts, and the dramatic drop test where all designs face the moment of truth. What makes this powerful for teams: it requires both divergent thinking (brainstorming wild ideas) and convergent execution (choosing and building one solution), it surfaces natural team roles (creative visionaries, practical engineers, project managers, detail perfecters), failure is visible but safe (it's just an egg!), and success requires integrating multiple perspectives - the most creative idea poorly executed fails, the most practical idea without innovation rarely wins. The physics is accessible to everyone while still allowing for sophisticated solutions. Post-challenge debrief connects the experience to workplace dynamics: How did you make decisions under time pressure? Who emerged as leaders? How did you handle disagreement? The Egg Drop creates shared memories, reveals team dynamics, and teaches lessons about innovation, collaboration, and graceful failure.
Objectives
- Practice collaborative problem-solving under time constraints and resource limitations
- Develop engineering thinking: planning, prototyping, testing, iterating within deadline
- Surface and leverage diverse team strengths: creative, analytical, detail-oriented, big-picture
- Experience healthy risk-taking and learning from failure in low-stakes environment
- Build team cohesion through shared challenge, creative collaboration, and memorable moments
- Reflect on team decision-making processes, leadership emergence, and communication patterns
How to Run This Game
Facilitator Script:
"Welcome to the Egg Drop Challenge! Here's your mission: Your team will receive one raw egg and a set of basic materials. You have 25 minutes to design and build a protective structure that will keep your egg from breaking when I drop it from 10 feet up. The team whose egg survives wins! Let's form teams of 4-5 people. Count off by [number of teams needed]."
Actions:
- Explain the core challenge clearly: protect egg from 10-foot drop
- Specify time limit (typically 20-25 minutes)
- Form balanced teams of 4-5 people (avoid letting people self-select into existing cliques)
- Show the drop height so teams can visualize the challenge
- Clarify rules: can only use provided materials, egg must be accessible for judges to verify
Tips:
- • Build excitement - this is fun! Use energetic tone and emphasize the competition element
- • For very large groups, create 8-10 teams max (more makes drop testing too long)
- • If possible, show a quick video or photo of past egg drop contraptions for inspiration
- • Emphasize: "There's no one right answer - creativity and teamwork matter most!"
- • Clarify the egg must be retrievable to check if intact (not sealed inside impenetrable fortress)
Facilitator Script:
"Alright teams, gather around! Each team gets: one raw egg - handle carefully! - 20 straws, 2 feet of masking tape, 3 sheets of newspaper, 10 rubber bands, 10 popsicle sticks, and one piece of cardboard. Check your materials. Everyone have everything? Your 25 minutes starts... now!"
Actions:
- Prepare materials in advance - identical sets for each team in bags or boxes
- Distribute one set per team along with their egg
- Give teams 30 seconds to verify materials before starting clock
- Start a visible timer (projected on screen or announced at intervals)
- Clarify: once you start, no additional materials allowed
Tips:
- • Standard material set works for most groups; adjust quantities based on what you have available
- • Alternative materials: cotton balls, bubble wrap, string, pipe cleaners, foam, plastic cups
- • Keep a few backup eggs in case teams drop theirs during construction
- • Consider providing one "practice egg" per team (hard-boiled) to test weight
- • Withhold one surprise material to add mid-challenge as optional twist (see variations)
Facilitator Script:
"[Walk around observing teams, offer encouragement] Team Blue, interesting approach with the parachute design! [At 15 min] You have 15 minutes remaining! [At 5 min] Five minutes left - time to finalize your designs! [At 1 min] One minute! Finish up your egg protection!"
Actions:
- Circulate among teams, observing dynamics and progress
- Offer encouragement but avoid giving design advice (maintain fairness)
- Call out time remaining at: 15 min, 10 min, 5 min, 2 min, 1 min
- Take photos of teams working - great for documentation/social sharing
- Notice team dynamics: who's leading, who's quiet, how are decisions made
Tips:
- • Resist urge to help struggling teams - frustration is part of learning
- • If a team is completely stuck at 10 min mark, ask questions: "What approaches have you considered? What's your biggest challenge?" (facilitate, don't solve)
- • Watch for one person dominating - consider interjecting: "I'd love to hear from the whole team"
- • Some teams will finish early - that's fine, they can test and reinforce
- • Build suspense as clock winds down: "Final minutes! Make every second count!"
- • Mental notes for debrief: which teams planned first vs. dove in, which iterated vs. committed to first idea
Facilitator Script:
"Time's up! Step away from your creations. Now comes the moment of truth - the DROP TEST! Team by team, you'll bring your egg contraption forward. I'll drop it from exactly 10 feet, and we'll see whose engineering stands up to the test. Who wants to go first? ...Alright, Team Red, bring it up! Here we go in 3... 2... 1... [Drop]. Let's check the egg! [Open contraption]. Ohhh, we have cracks! Valiant effort, Team Red! Next team!"
Actions:
- Use a ladder, balcony, or elevated platform for consistent drop height
- Have a tarp or outdoor space as drop zone for easy cleanup
- Invite one team representative to bring contraption forward and place it in drop zone
- Count down "3, 2, 1" and release (don't throw - straight drop)
- Carefully open/disassemble to check egg condition
- Announce result: "The egg is... [dramatic pause]... intact!" or "We have casualties!"
- Continue through all teams, building energy and drama
- If multiple eggs survive, those teams tie for first place (or do a bonus round from higher)
Tips:
- • Milk the drama - this is the payoff! Act like a game show host
- • Have a "cleanup crew" ready with paper towels for broken eggs
- • Celebrate all teams: "This took real creativity!" even for broken eggs
- • Photo/video each drop for team memories and documentation
- • If ALL eggs break: "The egg is the winner today! But you all showed amazing teamwork."
- • If ALL eggs survive: "Wow! We have a tie - let's acknowledge all our champion engineers!"
- • Optional: award categories like "Most Creative Design", "Best Use of Materials", "Most Likely to Survive a Hurricane"
Facilitator Script:
"That was awesome! Before we move on, let's reflect. [To group] What strategies worked? What did you learn about working under pressure? [To specific team] How did your team make decisions? Did you plan first or jump right in? [To all] Where do you see connections to our work challenges - tight deadlines, limited resources, need for creativity? What will you take from this back to your projects?"
Actions:
- Gather all teams together in a circle or seated group
- Start with broad question: "What did you notice about your team's process?"
- Ask about decision-making: "How did you choose which design approach to pursue?"
- Explore failures productively: "Teams whose eggs broke - what would you do differently?"
- Connect to workplace: "Where do we face similar challenges - time pressure, resource limits, need for collaboration?"
- Close with appreciations: "What did your teammates do well?"
Tips:
- • This debrief is where learning happens - don't skip it!
- • Balance process questions and outcome: focus on collaboration, not just winning
- • Useful prompts: "Who emerged as leader?", "How did you handle disagreements?", "Did you prototype or commit to first idea?"
- • Invite quieter team members: "Sam, what was your experience?"
- • Connect team roles in challenge to strengths in workplace: creative/planner/executor/cheerleader
- • Acknowledge learning from failure: "Broken eggs taught us just as much as successful ones!"
- • End on forward note: "How can we bring this collaborative energy to our next project deadline?"
- • For newer teams: emphasize getting to know each other's working styles; for established teams: emphasize trying new collaboration approaches
Facilitator Tips
- Do a test drop yourself before the event to set appropriate height (too high = all break; too low = all survive)
- Bring 3-4 extra eggs - teams may accidentally break theirs during construction
- Outdoor space is ideal (easy cleanup, higher drop options) but indoor with tarp works fine
- The debrief is more valuable than the activity itself - allocate real time for reflection
- Take photos during building and drops - teams love sharing these moments
- For virtual/hybrid teams, send material kits in advance and do simultaneous drops on video - still works!
- Consider prize for winners (small trophy, bragging rights, team lunch) to increase stakes
- Standard 10-foot drop is optimal - high enough for challenge, low enough for reasonable success rate
- Watch team dynamics carefully during building - you'll see natural roles emerge that inform your leadership understanding
Common Challenges & Solutions
Variations & Adaptations
Give teams play money budget ($100) and assign costs to each material (straws $5 each, tape $20 per foot, etc.). Teams must purchase materials within budget. Adds financial decision-making and trade-offs layer.
Do 2-3 rounds: Round 1 quick build (10 min) and test; Round 2 rebuild with lessons learned (15 min) and retest. Emphasizes learning from failure and continuous improvement mindset.
Teams must build in complete silence - no verbal communication allowed. Forces nonverbal communication, planning, and adaptability. Debrief heavily on communication challenges.
Midway through (at 12-minute mark), reveal surprise bonus materials (bubble wrap, extra tape). Teams bid using "creativity points" to acquire extras. Adds strategic decision-making element.
teams have used this game