Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty
had a great fall — off the tippy top of the play equipment at Holy Cross
Academy in Fredericksburg Aug 9. Actually Humpty Dumpty was dropped — by summer
campers. Don’t worry, it was all in the pursuit of STEM (science, technology,
engineering and math).
The egg drop was one of many activities
at this year’s space-themed STEM camp that taught rising fourth- through seventh-graders
about engineering and design.
“It is amazing how well they work
together even though the ages are all different,” said Margaret McNamara who
has organized the camp for the past 10 years. “Every morning when they come in
they start with a design challenge.”
Activities included space crystals, robotic
arms, lateral velocity, cellophane space suits, bottle rockets and designs for
the future Mars colony that NASA plans to start by 2030.
Before the 22 students started building designs
to protect their eggs, McNamara insisted they go through the design and
planning stage first. Working in groups, they figured out on paper the best
combinations of paper plates, cotton balls, straws and coffee filters that
would deliver their egg-astronauts back to earth safely.
Sixth-grader Eva Florio and
seventh-graders Cecilia Rotsch and Claire Theberge built two prototypes before
settling on their final design.
Their egg astronaut was one of seven that
survived the fall only to become McNamara’s breakfast another day. The best
designs utilized triangles or sturdy curved paper plates to slow the decent and
absorb the impact.
The two groups whose designs depended on careful aim and
a landing pad, however, would have to depend on all the king’s men to help put their
astronauts back together again.
