Learning Engineering through Eggs: An Engineering Workshop for Villa International High School, Maldives
The Egg Drop Challenge, organised for students from Villa International High School as part of their educational tour "Learning Beyond Walls," serves as an interactive and educational platform for the students to experience different aspects of engineering programmes. Led by Ir Dr Savier Kong Zong Yang and Ir. Dr Ng Lik Yin, and with the help of Chemical Engineering students Yong Kai Yu and Hooi Soong Ling, the team from the Department of Engineering designed this hands-on workshop to provide students with a unique opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in a real-world setting. The workshop aims to foster a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and promote essential engineering skills for the students.
As part of the challenge, students were tasked with designing egg-drop devices with a set of given materials that must protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a specified height. To expose the students to how Newton’s laws of motion are applied, how different materials and designs impact structural integrity, and why engineering is a field that requires a creative and innovative mind, functionality, structural integrity, and material selection were emphasised in the students’ egg-drop devices. The challenge pushes students to think critically about the intricate relationship between design elements.
To bring out the competitiveness of the students and ensure that the best device is designed, a competition is held where teams were to design a device that protects the egg while ensuring that the egg is dropped as slowly as possible, and as close as possible to a designated target. Students eagerly watched as their creations were dropped from a predetermined height, awaiting the verdict on whether their designs successfully shielded the fragile egg from the forces of gravity.
In conclusion, the workshop stood out as a fun and interactive experience for students from Villa International High School, fostering essential skills for them as future engineers. This challenge not only provides a hands-on understanding of scientific principles but also promotes teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, which are all important future in-demand skills essential for future-proof engineers. The collaborative nature of the challenge mirrors the dynamics of real-world engineering projects, preparing them for the challenges they may encounter in their future careers.
Ir Dr Ng Lik Yin
School: School of Engineering and Technology
Email: [email protected]
