WATSONVILLE — Hundreds of contestants lined up in the alley next to the Watsonville Civic Plaza building Wednesday afternoon to test their skills at engineering.
The 16th annual Egg Drop had groups from schools, offices, after-school programs and more attempting to design a contraption that would allow a raw chicken egg to survive a 60-foot drop.
The event is put on by the City of Watsonville as part of National Engineers Week, which aims to recognize engineers as well as inspire young people to possibly take up the career.
Jimmy Dutra said he’d been coming to the event for several years.
“I love how it engages people, especially kids with science in a hands-on way,” he said. “It gives them the opportunity to see how it can be fun.”
Employees of the City of Watsonville Public Works and Utilities Department had worked all day in designing their invention, dubbed “Operation Chicken Little.” They built a cage around the padded egg, with the corners supported by toy balls that would act as shock absorbers.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough.
“It didn’t work!” exclaimed group member Brenda Castillo. “But there’s always next year. We will definitely try again.”
Still waiting for their turn was 10-year-old Ayiana Huante and 11-year-old Carem Ho, working with the FLYERS Afterschool program. They had been working on their own invention for two days.
“We’re kind of nervous,” Ayiana admitted. “But it’s really fun to be here and see everyone’s projects.”
Carem agreed.
“I like how anyone can join,” she said. “Everyone has a chance to try and make something.”
Surprises continued through the afternoon — including one invention made up of Twinkies snacks surrounding the egg. When dropped, the invention spilled the sugary treats all over the ground like a piñata, resulting in shrieks from the gathered crowd.
“It’s just great to be here, seeing engineers interacting with the community,” Castillo said. “It’s a fun team building exercise, and it gets the kids really excited to learn.”
