SCIENCE IS THE WINNER AT EGG DROP CONTEST!
Faculty of Engineering, Izmir University of Economics (IUE) held an “Egg Drop Contest” for high school students to reinforce their interaction with science. Competitors created a device that would keep raw eggs intact when dropped from a specific height.
31 out of 35 designs succeeded at the 3-stage contest where Oğulcan Büyükkeskin from Bornova Anadolu High School came in first place with the lightest design. As Büyükkeskin was awarded with a computer, Bornova Anadolu High School was presented a telescope. 35 students from following high schools attended the contest: Izmir Fen, Izmir Dokuz Eylül Anadolu, Bornova Folkart Mektebim Anadolu, Güzelbahçe Bahçeşehir Science and Technology, Izmir Atatürk, Selçuk Yaşar Boyacılık Vocational and Technical Anadolu, Izmir Private Çamlaraltı Anadolu, Bornova Anadolu, Izmir Konak Mersinli Vocational and Technical Anadolu, Bergama 14 Eylül Anadolu, Vali Nevzat Ayaz Anadolu, TED Izmir, and Tarsus Amerikan High Schools.
Prof. Dr. Yaşar Güneri Şahin, Dean of IUE Faculty of Engineering, stated that the Egg Drop Contest was held in order to discover the students’ interest in aerospace engineering, and said that a raw egg was placed into students’ designs, and dropped from different heights. Prof. Dr. Şahin, who indicated that they observed whether the eggs were intact when dropped, said, “We were very impressed with the results. 31 out of 35 designs succeeded at the 3-stage contest. When competitors were successful at all three stages, we chose the lightest design as the first. We were able to observe that students improved their technical skills on aerodynamics and endurance. We also saw how highly interested they were in the Department of Aerospace Engineering”.
'Impressive Designs'
Contest Organizer Dr. Fabrizio Pinto, Faculty Member at Department of Aerospace Engineering, said, “The ideas the competitors used in their designs are very similar to those of NASA’s in space studies. Seeing such designs was very impressive for us. We definitely believe that these students will shape the space studies of Turkey in the future”.
High schooler Oğulcan Büyükkeskin stated that the event enabled to develop new ideas, and such contests would increase the students’ interest in science and technology. The event ended with a tour of the TESLA (Technology, Engineering and Science Laboratory) building of Izmir University of Economics.