An Eggs-cellent Way to Plan!!!!!!!!

My group did successfully completed all the steps in the planning process.

First started as a class, we were told of our goal for this activity, which was to construct an egg protector using limited materials and drop the egg from 10 feet high into a container, and if we achieved this we would receive 5 extra points on our exam. Then we were given our objectives, which were to name the egg, to develop and draw the design of our egg protector model, and to be able to see 50% of the egg shell.

As a group, we first brainstormed different ways of using 8 straws and tape to construct the model. We thought of cutting the straws in half, that way we would have 16 of them. We came up with several ideas of using the straws and and placed them around the egg, except not covering the top part, and then we spent some time discussing the idea. We would use the tape and place it between the straws and the egg, because the straw would not have enough resistance to protect the egg from breaking. Then we talked about the flaws and WHAT IFs when we dropped the egg, it landed on the top part where it had no protection. We considered different factors and generated scenarios for alternatives that might have occurred. Most of our ideas revolved around our first idea of taping the straws around the egg. This first idea prevented us from coming up with something different, something extraordinary. I think this was because sometimes we were too concentrated on one idea, and we modified our plan accordingly to correct the flaws. It kept us from overlooking and going beyond that point. We divided up the work in the team. Each of us helped built the model by placing 4 straws on the table and taping the straws. We then taped the straws to the egg. Although the straws only covered four sides, we tried using the leftover tape and covered the rest but with 50% shell shown. We thought it would not break because the parts that were covered by the straws were strong enough to resist the force even if it was dropped and bounced on the floor. However, the parts with shell showed were not guarantee 100%. As the result, our egg only cracked a small percentage on the side. I would say my team’s performance was still successful, and that we were also effective in almost all stage of the planning process.

I think it would be more effective if I could come up with a really different idea. I felt like some times I am surrounded by these borders or walls around my mind that I couldn't reach out. Or simply say that I am stuck by these rules, because I saw how other teams came up with just connecting the straws together and reached it down to place the egg into the container, this was one of the idea, and it wasn’t hard. But overall, I think my team did well.