GHS students compete in annual Egg Drop Challenge

Gainesville High School physics students competed Wednesday in an annual Egg Drop Challenge at UF.

According to an Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) release, “About 50 Gainesville High School physics students and their teacher Keith Watts will compete in his annual Egg Drop Challenge. The students have designed and built containers to protect eggs from a major fall.”

With assistance from UF staff, the containers with the eggs were taken to the Beaty Tower roof on the UF campus and dropped one at a time. The containers were checked to see if they protected the egg from the 160-foot drop.

“It is a thing to behold to watch these projects come down,” Watts said in an interview. “And it really does tie up the physics (lessons) of the year.”

Each student worked individually to create their container and – out of the approximately 60 students who participated – 55% of the containers survived the fall.

The students loaded their containers into rolling hampers and UF maintenance workers transported the hampers to the Beaty Tower East roof where the containers were dropped.

The containers were constructed using materials as diverse as pool noodles, colored drinking straws, wrapping paper, bubble wrap and a boxing glove.

Tifa Everett, a GHS 10^th grader, smothered her egg with Peter Pan peanut butter to safeguard it. Everett’s egg survived the fall.