What is an egg drop?

An egg drop is a fun challenge where each participant is tasked with protecting a raw egg that’s dropped from a height. Each participant designs their own container out of household materials like cardboard, tissue paper, and egg cartons. The goal is to design a unique container that protects the egg from the fall.

How does an egg drop event work?

An egg drop event is simple:

1. A few days before the event, you give each participant one raw egg (or they get their own) and task them with creating a unique container to protect it.
2. Participants get creative and build their egg containers using any materials they have at home.
3. On the day of the event, everyone brings in their protected eggs.
4. Teachers or other volunteers collect the containers and drop them all off of a tall surface, like a roof.
5. Participants find their containers and check to see if the eggs stayed intact!

You can also add other components to the event if you want, such as voting on the best containers or giving out prizes for eggs that stay intact. 

Who can participate in an egg drop?

Anyone can participate in an egg drop fundraiser! There’s plenty of flexibility here. These events can be hosted by schools, churches, or nonprofits. You can host an egg drop around Easter, make it into an educational event, or get creative!

However, there are two groups that egg drop events tend to be most popular with:

1. Elementary students: Young students will think of this event as an exciting challenge and a chance to let their imagination run wild. Plus, science teachers can use the egg drop as an opportunity to educate kids about gravity and force in a way that’s easy for them to understand.
2. College students: Undergrad students can take egg drops to the next level, especially those studying engineering. Consider having professors “grade” each container design and give feedback on well they’re engineered. You might even let students drop their own eggs instead of volunteers!

What do you need to host an egg drop?

You don’t need many resources or a big budget to hose an egg drop fundraiser. All you need is:

• Raw eggs: You’ll need an egg for each participant that you can give them ahead of time. 
• A roof or other tall surface: Students may love to see their teachers dropping eggs from the roof of the school building, but any tall surface will work!
• Volunteers: You’ll need a few people to collect and drop all of the containers. These could be teachers, parents, or other volunteers.
• Household materials (optional): Traditionally, an egg drop requires participants to only use materials they already have at home so they have to get creative. However, you may decide to provide everyone with the same materials instead to level the playing field.

How do you raise funds at an egg drop fundraiser?

To turn an egg drop event into a fundraiser, simply charge small entrance and attendance fees. Promote the event to the wider community, and let parents, family members, and friends buy tickets to attend the event and watch the drop!

For additional fundraising opportunities, consider selling branded t-shirts at the event or asking attendees to give small donations as bets on which containers will be the most successful.