An Eggs-cellent Plan

The goal in our group was to get 5 points extra credits which would be gained upon the satisfactory test result: making sure we create a good protection device that will prevent our egg from breaking after it dropped in the basket within limited time, and the device will be constructed with limited resources.
The objectives are: first, within 25 minutes, we have to come up an ideal or usable construction plan for the egg. Second, we have to build up the protective piece within the following 10 minutes.

Our group identified that the limited resources we will receive were 8 straws and about 24 inches long tape. Beside choosing the shortest person who would go on to the chair and drop the egg, we didn’t really specify who would be doing which part of the tasks in the first 25 minutes discussion time, but just simply everyone pitched in and talk about each member’s opinion. We did question about whether someone in our team was good at physics or some sorts to exam if the final decision could work out, but since no one was the method was eventually decided by popular votes.

I think our group’s strength was that everybody was willing and enthusiastically participated, and we allow each person talk about their opinion in a democratic way which I think was really cool.

The only alternative strategies to back up or contingency plan was probably the other building method of the only two we came up with. The weakness was obvious our team had too little back up plans to choose if the first decision was hard to accomplish. (Although I mentioned about someone might want to go to downstairs’ cafeteria to grab some extra straws in case we don’t have enough to use. Because our group values ethic due to fair competition, everyone just gave it a laugh.)

During the last 10 minutes, we assigned the jobs to each member in terms of straw folding, egg holding and taping. However since the time was so limited, we stick to the first plan throughout the whole building process. Though we did encounter some difficult issues in the building process, however we could only alternate the positions of straws in order to make them and the egg stay together.

Despite of coming up more building ideas (which now I think about it, brain storming can be really helpful), I don’t really think we can really alternate our process in planning during such limited time. In my opinion, the only improvement we could do is to acquire more knowledge and try to think outside of box like the other “long rope of straw-plus-tape combination” in the future, so next time if we get another similar “egg”, we will be able to do better.

In end, I think the class was really fine,; although our group didn't get the credits, I really enjoyed team working.