Annual Egg Drop exciting at Lura White

Excited students, teachers and parents gathered in the parking lot of Lura A. White Elementary School in Shirley for the annual egg drop.

First-grade teacher Charlene Shorey explained that this event was “the culmination of our science unit on eggs.”

She said that students had been observing eggs, discussing animals that lay eggs and performing experiments such as soaking eggs in vinegar so that the shells dissolve and the contents within become translucent.

The goal of the egg drop was to engineer packaging that would keep a raw egg intact for a 40-foot drop from the ladder of Shirley Ladder Truck No. 1 onto the pavement below.

Principal Pat Fitzgerald said she could “feel the excitement level building” all morning as students brought in their eggs for the drop.

Capt. Joe Hawthorne, of the Shirley Fire Department, relayed several large garbage bags filled with students’ projects to Lt. Troy Cooley, who climbed the ladder and dropped each packaged egg individually.

Some packages landed with resounding thuds; others bounced.

One even appeared to have been packed in a red jelly-like substance. (That one landed with a splat.)

Students not involved in the drop crowded at the school windows to watch the action.

“Students just love it! We do this every year,” said Mrs. Shorey as she helped eager students unwrap their bundles after the drop to see if their egg was whole or scrambled.