All they're cracked up to be

Despite the date and the green attire sported by almost everyone in attendance, Krystal Elementary School's March 17 special event had nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day.

Instead, the choice school of science, math and technology was conducting a science experiment: As an optional project, fifth and sixth graders had to come up with designs that keep an uncooked egg intact after being dropped off the school's roof.

"They were asked to use a poster board, and Scotch tape and an egg," said Assistant Principal Ben Skinner, who checked each egg after the drop to see if it had survived. "They could pretty much do what they wanted to with it after that."

The designs ranged from the "wrap it in multiple layers of cardboard and tape" method (most of which cracked) to more fanciful designs, including a basket suspended from a small parachute, various paper airplanes and an egg surrounded by coiled springs of shock-cushioning cardboard.

"Kids made their own designs based upon what they thought would work to keep the egg from breaking," said Skinner. "Some of them actually suspended the egg within their design."

Principal Tom Kirk dropped each design off the roof, while a waiting crowd of fifth and sixth graders gathered around a blue tarp listened for the telltale crack of the more spectacular failures.

In the end, 12 of the 20 entries survived.

Beau Yarbrough can be reached at 760-956-7108 or at beau@hesperiastar.com. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Hesperia.Star