DIY Sidewalk Science- The Egg Walk!

It’s summer! Time to bring science to the great outdoors. Here’s a fun exercise testing the surprising strength of eggs – The Egg Walk!

Do you think you could walk across several cartons of eggs without breaking them? Let’s take it to the sidewalk to find out!

First, you’ll need about 6-8 cartons of eggs. The first step is to open all the cartons, checking for any cracked shells.

Next, turn each egg around to make sure the pointy end is facing down in the carton. (You may find your eggs are already like this in the cartons, but double check to make certain).

Stagger your egg cartons on a flat surface, like the driveway or sidewalk.

With an assistant there to keep them steady, have your child place his or her feet on one of the cartons, evenly distributing their weight. This takes a little bit of focus, but can be achieved when a helping hand is there to keep them from losing their balance.

Slowly have your child (with assistance) walk from carton to carton. When they evenly put their weight across the eggs, no shells will crack!

Balancing Egg Walk

How do the eggs not break?

The secret is the shape of the egg. When you crack an egg on the side of bowl, the pressure is unevenly applied to the shell, forcing it to break open. In the case of the Egg Walk, pressure is applied evenly to the egg’s strongest portion – the arch. The curve of the shell helps to distribute the pressure consistently across structure of total egg. This is why Mother Hen can easily sit on her eggs to keep them warm!

It goes without saying that the carton also helps to absorb the pressure from the Egg Walk, too. Trying to walk on top of a bowl of eggs would never work. The carton keeps the eggs upright and in a uniform manner.

We hope you have an egg-ceptional summer!

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