Seventh grade students at Seckman Middle School participate in the Eggs
Prize every spring as part of a physics and engineering project.
The Eggs Prize is a contest modeled
after the X Prize created by the X Prize Foundation. The X Prize was a $10
million dollar cash prize for any team that could build a vehicle capable of
traveling to an altitude of 100 km (62 miles) with three passengers and return
them safely to Earth. The team had to successfully re-launch the space vehicle
two weeks later. The X Prize originated in Saint Louis and was won by Burt Rutan and his
team after they built Space Ship One.
For our students, to be an Eggs
Prize winner the rocket design team must launch a water rocket carrying a raw
egg as a payload to an altitude of at least 30 meters. The egg must survive the
flight unharmed. If the flight is successful, the team is to re-launch the same
water rocket and raw egg to the required altitude and return the egg safely to
Earth within two days of the original flight. Students work in teams to design
their rockets in the most aerodynamic fashion. Fins, nose cones, and parachutes
are carefully designed and tested and students must also design a container for
their passenger, or eggstronaut, that will safeguard the payload.
