Humpty Dumpty

Objectives:

  1. To construct original-packaging designs.
  2. To determine the group's best packaging design.
  3. To observe how height affects how fast an egg will travel.

Materials:

  • Eggs (two, hard-boiled eggs per team), packaging materials (newspaper, string, cardboard, Styrofoam, plastic wrap, empty-egg cartons, string scissors (one per team), tape (one roll per team), meter stick

    Procedures:

    1. Read the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty. Discuss what happened to Humpty Dumpty when he fell off the wall.
    2. Present the problem-solving situation: "Humpty Dumpty needs your help. You need to wrap Humpty Dumpty (hard-boiled egg), so that when he falls off the wall he will not crack."
    3. Place all packing materials on a table. Children work in teams of two to wrap Humpty Dumpty.
    4. Teams package Humpty Dumpty by wrapping materials around their hard-boiled eggs. (All packaging designs are acceptable.)
    5. Ask: "How can we determine the best design for Humpty Dumpty?" (Drop Humpty Dumpty from various heights.)
    6. Teams "test run" their designs from varying heights. Record the highest point Humpty Dumpty was dropped from and did not crack -- until one Humpty Dumpty is left. Use meter sticks to get a rough estimate (eg, 1,2,3, sticks high). Chart class results.
    7. Teams replicate the winning Humpty Dumpty design. They drop their clone Humpty Dumpty designs from differing heights. Ask: "What was the highest point Humpty Dumpty was dropped from and did "not" crack?" Measure and record results on the class chart.
    8. Explain "why" it is important to be able to repeat things again in science and technology. (Otherwise, there would be no new Barbie dolls, Nintendos, medicines...)

    Evaluation

    1. Examine team original-packaging designs.
    2. Assess team criterias for judging the best packaging design for Humpty Dumpty.
    3. Check student understanding of "replicating" to see if they can explain it.

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