--- title: "Great Egg Drop" description: "Small teams use a limited set of straws and masking tape to build a protective carrier for a raw egg. Each structure is dropped from a measured height to test whether the egg survives intact." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/team-building-challenge-for-fun-problem-solving-great-egg-drop/" --- # Great Egg Drop Small teams use a limited set of straws and masking tape to build a protective carrier for a raw egg. Each structure is dropped from a measured height to test whether the egg survives intact. **Time:** 45 minutes. Source recommends 30 to 45 minutes for construction; UWT standardizes the full session to 45 minutes including setup, drop tests, and debrief. **People:** 4 to 24. Teams of 4 to 8 participants. For 4 to 7 people, run one team. For 8 to 14, split into two teams of 4 to 7. For 15 to 24, split into three or four teams of 4 to 6. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Test a physical prototype under fixed material constraints and evaluate group decision-making under a time limit. **Use it when:** Use during project kickoffs, design sprints, or hands-on problem-solving workshops where teams need to practice rapid planning and testing. **Skip it when:** Skip when working in spaces where raw food cleanup is prohibited, when carpet cannot be protected, or when working in a remote format without mailed physical supplies. ## Materials and tools - 1 raw egg per team (plus 2 to 3 spares for accidental cracks during build) - 20 standard drinking straws per team - 1 strip of masking tape (1 meter / approx 3 feet) per team - 1 plastic drop tarp or plastic trash bag to cover the drop zone - 1 tape measure or pre-measured 3-meter (10-foot) height marker - Paper towels and disinfectant wipes for cleanup ## Before participants arrive 1. Lay a plastic tarp on the floor directly beneath the drop location. 2. Measure and mark the 3-meter drop height on a wall, ladder, or balcony landing. 3. Count out kits of 20 straws, 1 meter of tape, and 1 egg per team at designated tables. ## Say this to open Welcome. Your team has 25 minutes to build a vehicle that protects a raw egg when dropped from a height of three meters onto the tarp. The egg must be securely enclosed inside your structure. You may only use the materials provided: twenty straws and this one strip of masking tape. We will test every structure at the end of the build time. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce challenge and distribute materials (5 minutes) Explain the rules, show the materials, and point out the drop zone. Give each team their kit: 20 straws, 1 meter of tape, and 1 egg. State clearly that the egg must be secured within the structure and survive the fall unbroken. ### 2. Design and build (25 minutes) Teams plan, test concepts, and assemble their protective casing. Warn teams when 10 minutes and 2 minutes remain. If an egg cracks accidentally during construction, issue one replacement egg and keep the timer running. ### 3. Drop tests and integrity checks (10 minutes) Call time. Gather the whole room around the drop zone. One by one, teams bring their vehicle forward. A team representative or the facilitator drops the vehicle from the 3-meter mark onto the tarp. Open or inspect each vehicle immediately to verify if the egg survived without cracks. ### 4. Debrief (5 minutes) Lead a whole-group discussion on design choices, constraint trade-offs, and how roles formed during construction. Take 2 to 3 observations from volunteers across different teams. ## Debrief questions - What assumptions did your team make about impact forces, and did the test confirm them? - How did your group decide how much tape and straw to spend versus save? - What would you redesign immediately if given another build round with the same resources? **Finished output:** Tested physical prototypes and verified egg survival results across all teams. ## Remote This physical construction exercise requires hands-on material fabrication and cannot run directly in a standard video call without prior kit distribution. If running fully online, each remote participant must have the exact physical kit (20 straws, 1 meter masking tape, 1 egg, and a measured drop point) at their personal workspace, dropping simultaneously on camera. ## Hybrid Each hybrid team pairs in-person builders with a remote partner via a dedicated video device placed at their build table. Remote members serve as lead architects: they direct the construction plan, log material usage, and observe prototype angles on video. During testing, an in-person teammate carries the camera to the drop zone so remote members watch the drop and impact live. ## Access and participation choices - Participants with motor or mobility limitations can choose roles as lead designers, timekeepers, or impact evaluators rather than handling small tape strips. - Any participant uncomfortable handling raw eggs can request a plastic zippered bag around the egg or let team members handle the egg directly. ## If the session gets stuck **An egg breaks accidentally at a table during construction.** Provide a replacement egg once without penalty, remind the team to handle it gently, and do not reset the shared timer. **A team hoards tape and runs out of time before securing the egg inside the vehicle.** Give verbal countdowns at 10, 5, and 2 minutes remaining, reminding teams that an unsecured egg cannot pass the drop test. ## Terms used here - Vehicle: The protective straw-and-tape enclosure built to cradle and shield the egg during a fall. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Playmeo activity catalog, where the entry is attributed to Mark Collard. Retained the defining mechanic from Mark Collard / Playmeo (teams build a protective vehicle using 20 straws and tape to drop an egg from 3 meters). UWT structured the session into precise 5/25/10/5-minute intervals, specified setup requirements including tarps and height markers, added specific safety and cleanup measures, and provided structured debrief questions. [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/team-building-problem-solving-activities/great-egg-drop) [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/team-building-problem-solving-activities/great-egg-drop/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/team-building-challenge-for-fun-problem-solving-great-egg-drop/