EVDS annual Egg Drop
A member of the This Is Your Brain on Drugs team prepares to launch her egg containment vehicle into space, four storeys above the EVDS atrium floor.
/ Photo: Ken Bendiktsen
“There’s no right answer to a design problem”
Three eggs died and four were severely injured, but thanks to the help of the eight egg rescue squads, the vast majority survived the four-storey plunge through the atrium of the Faculty of Environmental Design in this year’s annual EVDS Egg Drop Competition.
The Egg Drop wrapped up the annual new student orientation where exercises and information sessions conducted by faculty, veteran students and staff helped first-years get out of their design shells. Approximately 70 first-year students joined EVDS veterans to design egg-bearing contraptions to withstand the fall through the atrium and avoid a scrambled fate. Students had an hour to design their device and were given very few supplies.
“It was amazing to see the energy and camaraderie generated by this event,” said Associate Dean MEDes Tom Keenan, who acted as one of the judges. “Students who were total strangers a few days ago formed close bonds as they tackled the meaningless yet very significant challenge of protecting an egg from the hazards of a fourstorey plunge.”
The eight teams were judged on egg device design, success of the drop and team name, which included: “Clucked Up,” “One is En’oeuf” and “Egyptian Eggiators.”
Contraptions included a card-board spaceship, an inverted pyramid, a garage-sale box, and many variations of airplane-like devices. A group named “This is Your Brain on Drugs” tried to impress judges by basing their design on EVDS professor Tang Lee’s work to rehabilitate former grow-op houses, which has recently received wide media coverage.
In the end, team “Basket Case” stole the show with their small paper basket attached to several feet of string that enabled the egg to descend slowly down the atrium.
“I believe the variety of designs opened their eyes to the fact that there's no right answer to a design problem, and that teamwork can produce great results,” said Keenan. “The event was a great success.”
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September 8, 2009