On Friday, March 20th, 2026, we hosted approximately 60 third and fourth graders from Perkins Elementary School in Curry McLeod Suites for a very fun STEM field trip!
The day began with an engineering warm-up activity: the Paper Towers Challenge. Working individually, each student was given just a single sheet of paper and challenged to build the tallest freestanding tower they could. Students experimented with folding, rolling, and layering techniques to see what would hold. After some trial and error, the students paired up and were given tape as an added resource, working together to improve their designs. It was great to see how teamwork completely transformed their towers!
Tunnel Boring Machine | Digital Calipers
Next, teams led by our undergraduate student volunteers took on the “What is Technology?” challenge. Students were presented with a collection of odd, unfamiliar-looking tools and objects, such as a meat tenderizer, a beluga airplane model, an egg cracker, and several other puzzling gadgets. Teams were challenged to identify what each one was, what it did, and what the technology could be named. The students came up with creative guesses for nearly every object, and the activity opened a broader conversation about what technology is and how engineers design tools to solve specific problems.
Michael helps students plan their designs
The centerpiece of the day was the Egg Drop Bioengineering Challenge. Students worked in teams with a limited set of materials to design and build a protective capsule for a raw egg, the same kind of problem-solving that bioengineers and mechanical engineers tackle when designing systems that need to protect fragile contents like the human brain. Using cotton balls, balloons, plastic cups, and other resources, teams debated designs, tested configurations, and adjusted before heading to lunch.
During this break, the elementary schoolers got the chance to ask our undergraduate volunteers about college life, the college application process, choosing a major, and what they wish they had known as younger students. Our volunteers shared honest perspectives about their own experiences navigating the transition from middle school to high school to college!
After lunch, students brought their capsules to a Northeastern bridge 15 feet off the ground and dropped them one by one. Some eggs met their fate on the pavement below, but a number survived the fall completely intact, a testament to the thoughtful engineering the students had put into their designs.
The students ended the day with a campus tour led by our student volunteers. They got to see state-of-the-art facilities to get them excited about college in the future! Teachers said about the field trip: “This is a wonderful experience for both students and staff, and I really appreciate the zero cost. Being a student is already difficult, so I also really appreciate the number of student volunteers and how engaged they were with the students and activities.”
We’d like to thank Perkins Elementary School for a wonderful Friday field trip!
