Grades 3–5
Craft Stick Catapult
Build a catapult from craft sticks and rubber bands, launch a pom-pom and measure how far it flies.
Science worksheet · Engineering design
Egg Drop Challenge
Plan, build and test a package that keeps an egg from breaking when it falls.
- Grade level
- Grades 3–5
- Time
- About 45 minutes
- Topic
- Engineering design
- Answer key
- Not needed: answers vary
- Kids practice
- Engineering design, Building and testing, Teamwork
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- The challenge: build a package that keeps a raw egg from breaking when it is dropped from 2 meters. Rules: use only paper, straws, tape, cotton balls, rubber bands and a paper cup.
- Materials I will use:
- Draw your design. Label the parts.
- Did the egg break?
- What I will change
- What part of your design protected the egg the most?
Words on this sheet
rubber bandspaperpaper cupstrawstapecotton ballsDropHeight
Teacher tip
Use plastic eggs with a little water inside for less mess.
How to use it
- Give each team the same materials and a time limit.
- Ask teams to sketch a plan before they touch the materials.
- Start with a two-minute “I notice, I wonder” talk about the picture on the sheet.
Watch for
Teams where one child builds and the rest watch. Give every child a job.
Talk about it
- What went wrong, and how did you fix it?
- What question do you still have?
Take it further
Hold a gallery walk where teams explain their design.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More engineering design worksheets
Grades 3–5
Kinds of Engineers
Match six kinds of engineers to what they design, then tell which one you would like to be.
Grades 2–5
Paper Marble Run
Build a marble run from paper and tape that makes the marble roll as slowly as it can, then improve it.
Grades 2–4
The Engineering Design Process
Number the five steps engineers use, from ask to improve, then name a problem an engineer could solve.
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