Science and the Bible: Walking on Eggshells

Wouldn’t you love to walk on water? I’ve always imagined what it would be like. I saw this experiment recently and thought that it would be a good way to illustrate the story of Peter walking on water with Jesus. I have tried this experiment several times and for some reason I can’t get it to work with adults standing on the eggs, but it always has worked with kids. I’ve seen videos where it works with adults, but I can’t make it work (maybe my eggs are too cheap!). Download the teaching picture and Bible story summary here.

Before the Activity:

o   Where are some places that you would like to walk that you cannot?

o   What would it feel like to walk on glass? Slime? The moon? Eggs?

o   Today we will study about Peter and how he was able to walk on water with Jesus.

Items needed:

o   4 dozen eggs

o   Vinyl tablecloth

Instructions:

o   Place the vinyl tablecloth on the ground.

o   Place the eggs on the vinyl tablecloth in their cartons.

o   Assist a volunteer in standing directly on the eggs.

o   Help the volunteer jump while standing on the eggs. (Supposedly this will work, use this suggestion at your OWN risk!)

What happened:

o   Eggs seem fragile, but God had a great design for them in their shape. The shape of the eggs gives them their strength. The curve of the shell distributes the pressure evenly.

Bible Story Connection:

o   Peter Walked on Water (Matthew 14:22-33)

o   Connection Point: Most people would never guess that you can actually walk on eggs, but we know that walking on water is impossible. God shaped eggs especially to give them strength so actually walking on them is possible. Peter was able to walk on water because he had the power of his faith in Jesus Christ.

After the Story/Activity:

o   Was it a miracle to be able to walk on eggs? What did walking on eggs require?

o   How was Peter able to walk on water? What made Peter start to sink?

o   How can you depend on Jesus like Peter did?

Jeff Land loves Life! That’s pretty great, because his job here at Lifeway is the Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff loves his life which is so blessed by his amazing wife, Abbey, and their four sons, Reed, Nash, Will, and Tuck. A natural encourager and fun-lover, look for Jeff’s posts about teacher appreciation and game ideas. When not serving at work, Jeff serves 2nd graders at his church, First Baptist Church, Joelton, TN.