Getting an 'egg-ucation'

Students from Craig Duncan's sixth grade class watch as an milk carton containing a raw egg returns to earth after being dropped from the top of the Mountain Home Fire Department's ladder truck during a science experiment Thursday morning.

Teams of students used common household items to build parachutes and cushions to protect the eggs, which then landed in the school playground as part of a forces in motion program.

In addition to wrapping the eggs in newspaper, a few teams used bubble wrap to create an airbag protection system to cushion the capsules on impact. Students Brandon Wolfcamp and Jake Tismo built the most reliable parachute system with their contraption taking 3.42 seconds to complete the brief descent.

Maddy Finconi and Oakleigh Kearby show off the shattered remains of their egg after it struck the ground. Out of the 14 teams that built capsules for the experiment, 10 of the eggs survived the 52-foot plunge.