It was fun, definitely was one of the most interesting classes I have taken, even though our group didn’t success in the end. Our “YoYo” was cracked, but I enjoyed the whole process of planning.
First, our professor set the goal and objectives for us---we need to drop a raw egg from 10 feet height without a crack. In other word, we need to protect the egg by using the limited resource--- 8 straws and 2feet of tape. There was only 10 minutes to build our contraction.
Second, we assigned five of our group members with different positions: dropping egg, holding tape, running for scissor, 2 for building the contraction. For the step 3, we developed different strategies, which was the crucial for part towards the result. The first image came to our mind was triangle which we believe is the most stable shape. But we were not sure if we could make a stable triangle out of straws, so we made another alternative. For the second plan, we decide to cut those straws and wrap the egg which could prevent egg get touch with floor directly. Without resources in hand, it was really difficult for us to know which plan could work better.
For the last step, we put our plan into action. We failed with our first plan, and went directly to second one. But in the end, we didn’t work out as what we have planned. Time went so fast, we just tried our best. After watching other groups’ successes, I think there are smarter people.
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Smarter people? I doubt. Remember, the goal of this exercise, in the professor's mind, isn't about seeing who can prevent the egg from cracking (or worse). We aren't engineering majors. The objective was to give us a challenging situation which proper planning would probably not occur, then we can take that experience into the following lecture.
I think the most important part is to understand the planning process, rather than finding the ways to prevent the egg.
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