Pringles Challenge
The Pringles Packaging Challenge is a take off on the classic egg drop activity. For both, students attempt to produce a package design that will protect a delicate item, and learn about the engineering design in the process.
For the Pringles Challenge, small groups of students design and package a single chip to send through the US Postal Service to another destination. To save on costs, larger districts can use their district mail system to ship the boxes. You could also ship them to several schools, to make this more of a challenge.
Upon arrival, the chips will be evaluated and scored according to the process described on the website.
For my STEM session at TCEA 2016, I wanted to make sure I included The Pringles Challenge. I stumbled upon this challenge while I was researching a 2015 session. But for 2016 I wanted to give the challenge a little boost. So to showcase this engineering activity, what better way then to actually have the real deal to be unveiled at the session by the attendees?
Three weeks before the convention, I opened this challenge up to my colleagues at TCEA and four of my colleagues volunteered. Each contestant received a 5x5x5 cardboard box that would be shipped by USPS to staff member, Jennifer Bergland. I chose Jennifer because she lives the farthest from TCEA World Headquarters. Jennifer brought them back to TCEA and once again they took a little trip in my car to the Austin Convention Center.
1st Place Kristy Breaux , Associate Director
Kristy packaged her Pringle in a ziploc bag that was filled by canned air. The bag was wrapped in large bubble wrap. The last touch was to write FRAGILE on all sides of the box.
When opened during the STEM session, the chip arrived in one whole piece.
A perfect score - 100!
Kristy's first strategy was to insert the chip inside a balloon, but that was not working so her next attempt was the ziploc bag and bubble wrap. Matt, our IT guy also dropped the box a few times on the test trial before the final packaging was decided upon.
Tie for 2nd Place
Katie Treat, Executive Assistant
Katie decided to go with a combination of a ziploc bag, packing peanuts and the air sealed pillows. It arrived with just a little bit broken off of one edge.
Certainly worthy of 75 points
Katie channeled her design from watching YouTube videos on coffee mug shipping. She reports, " they take mug shipping seriously!" This makes total sense as Katie has vast shipping experience at TCEA. If you have received Race For Time mats, wiffle balls, checkers, or PVC couplers....that would be Katie's expertise on display.
Tie for 2nd Place Carrie McFarland, Director of Member Services
In my opinion, Carrie's packaging was quite an engineering feat. A wire clothes hanger was shaped into a rectangle. Several rubber bands were stretched in a tic-tac-toe woven design on the wire frame. The chip was wrapped in a kleenex and placed in a toilet tissue roll suspended by the intersecting middle rubber bands.
Carrie stated, "My original idea was that the chip needed some sort of protection (box within the box) and some sort of cushioning from hitting the sides of the box during shipping. For the cushioning, I started with a flexible straw frame, but realized it wasn't sturdy enough and moved to the coat hanger frame. For the protection, I used a toilet paper roll to encase the potato chip."
Again the chip arrived with just a little bit shaved off the edge. Similar to the condition of Katie's chip. 50 points + 25 bonus points for unique design.
Tied for 2nd Place
Ben Starr, Graphics Design Specialist
Again the chip arrived with just a little bit shaved off the edge. So very similar to the condition of Katie's and Carrie's chip.
You would expect a grand design from the TCEA Graphics Design Specialist and Ben did not disappoint. His chip was placed in a little box which was suspended by flexible straws and duct tape.
75 points awarded to Ben, and of course, he received bonus points for such a creative design.
