Rolling Eggs Investigation

This fun egg rolling activity kept my children occupied for hours,  we simply timed eggs rolling down our slide, then wrapped them in different materials to see if that affected their speed.

Younger children will just enjoying rolling the eggs, but for older children you can spend time planning the experiment, thinking about which factors you need to keep constant and how to display your results.

Rolling Eggs Investigation

• Egg – hard boiled might be safest
• Timer/Stop Watch
• Materials to wrap around the egg – bubble wrap, kitchen roll, velcro
• Ramp/Slide

Method

• Decide on two markers on your ramp which you will time the distance to travel between.

• Place the first egg at the top marker and let the egg roll down the ramp, recording the time taken to reach the second marker.

• Repeat 3 times.

• Wrap bubble wrap around your egg and repeat steps 2 and 3

• Wrap kitchen roll around your egg and repeat steps 2 and 3

• Calculate the average speed for each egg and design a table to show your results.

Can you think of any more materials to try?

Things to think about

Use the same egg for each condition as different eggs might be different weights.

What do you think slows down or speeds up the egg? Does friction play a part?

Did any of the eggs break? Which material protected the egg the best?

Could you improve the experiment with a longer ramp?

Rolling Eggs – The Results

We found  the egg wrapped in bubble wrap was the slowest, but also the most protected, it was the only egg to remain completely in tact.

The time differences between the eggs are very small, and possibly more down to our inaccurate timing than anything else. The lovely Rebecca at Here Come the Girls suggested rolling the eggs down different surfaces which might have worked better.

 

Penny at Alexander Residence inspired this post, what do you think of her funky decorated eggs?

More Egg Investigations for Kids

Can you make a parachute for the egg to protect it from a fall?

We’ve also got a collection of eggy experiments and investigations, including making naked eggs!

Last Updated on February 15, 2020 by Emma Vanstone