Getting Kids Involved in Prepping: Scrambling an Egg Inside its Shell
Required Items:
A length of PVC pipe
Some String
Some Glue
1 inch-long dowel
1 nail
1 bowl
Some instant drying molding plastic
Assembly
The first step is to take the moldable plastic and create a web-shaped cup that will rest around the top half of the egg shell along it’s vertical axis. You can design this basket as simple or complex as you like. However, you should have at least two bands that wrap around both the horizontal as well as vertical axis of the egg. The lip of the basket should also extend slightly inward so that it will hold the egg in place securely.
Next, form a circle on the plastic where these bands intersect. This is where the mixer will be attached later on. Poke a hole in this center piece with a hot needle, small drill bit or nail.
The next step is to place some glue around the head of the nail. Push it through the hole that you just created in the plastic so that the pointed end is facing outward, in the opposite direction of the basket.
Take the nail, or drill bit and create a vertical hole in the center of the dowel that extends about ¾ of the way through. Cut two holes through the PVC pipe, so that they are on opposite sides, about an ½ inch from one of the ends.
Stick the nail that is attached to the basket and feed it through the holes on the PVC pipe. Add some glue to the end of the nail. Stick the dowel over the nail so that it anchors the basket to the pipe. However, make sure that there is enough room above and below the pipe so that the assembly can spin freely.
All you need to do now is wrap the string around the dowel. You can either glue one end of the string to the dowel or just wrap it freely. In either case, you want to pull the string so the dowel and basket assembly spins as you hold the handle with your other hand. You should have around three feet of string so that it will be long enough to spin and scramble the egg as you pull.
Attach the egg, gently squeeze the plastic around the egg and hold the handle. Place the basket and egg over a large bowl just in case it falls out while spinning. Pull on the string with the other hand until it runs out. Gently remove the egg from the basket and you’re done.
All you need to decide now is whether or not you want to make a fried, hard or soft boiled egg. Hard boiled eggs are fun because kids can peel the shells and see a blended egg that “magically” turns into a different color as it cooks.
While it is true that you can do the exact same thing by firmly gripping the egg in your hand and giving a good shake, remember that the point of this trick is to teach your child how to build something. Try this trick for yourself, and improvise in order to make improvements as necessary. Little projects like this really do inspire creativity and the ability to think outside of the box, and these are essential skills that every prepper needs to have.
