Students get creative to solve teacher's 'Ship a Chip' challenge

Some of Robyn Freeman's eighth-grade science students at Kanapaha Middle School may have a future in engineering judging by their attempts to successfully ship a Pringle chip to the teacher.

It's part of a science experiment in which the students have to design a package that will protect a lone Pringle that is mailed to Freeman.

As Freeman opens each package, she announces either "it arrived alive," or "it has a few fractures."

"The kids really step up to make creative containers and I learn something new every year as I look at their projects," Freeman said.

This is the sixth year she has assigned the "Ship a Chip Challenge" to her students, an idea she "borrowed" from a teacher at Mebane Middle School.

Students are given six weeks to complete the assignment and have to make sure it arrives to Freeman through regular first class mail on time. There are several steps students must follow to ensure they receive 100 points.

"And I know a lot of parents help, and that's OK," Freeman said. "I allow the students to see packages of former students so they can get an idea of what's expected."

Just having the chip arrive in one piece earns 20 points; however, five points are deducted for each crack. To make sure the package sustains little damage, many students opt to write "fragile" or "do not crush" on the outside of the envelope.

Oh, there is one more hitch: The package in a business-size envelope can not weigh more than three ounces and the cost to ship can not exceed $1.56.

And the package housing the Pringle must be handmade by the student, no packing peanuts, bubble wrap or other commercial packing supplies allowed.

Instead, lots of cotton balls, toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, Styrofoam and project board was used to construct containers. There are even a few tree branches that were used to protect the chip.

Students like Sheridan Lee, 13, constantly asked if her Pringle had arrived safely. The two earlier attempts did not fare well, so it was back to Square One. She ended up reinforcing the box with Popsicle sticks.

"It worked. My chip arrived alive," she said. "This takes a lot of patience. It's a lot of trials and fails but eventually it will work."

Kyle McCraeth, 13, ended up eating a lot of Pringles during the project as he worked to figure out how to ship one without it cracking. He achieved success the third time.

"I used thick paper in one package and cotton balls in the other," said McCraeth, who is blind. "I did not know how fragile they were until I started trying to keep it from cracking. It was a fun project, but it was also hard."

Freeman said that, of her students, the girls come up with the most decorative packages while the boys' designs are more ingenious.