McKinney, Texas — When the Egg Drop went wrong, it produced a distinctively unpleasant crunch. Teams rushed forward to survey the results, groaning when they discovered a cracked or completely demolished egg. Success, however, elicited sounds of celebration.
That any of the eggs survived the 30 ft. drop was impressive given the materials that the teams were working with—a bagged assortment of odds and ends such as balloons, pipe cleaners and coffee filters—and only 8 minutes to assemble them into a contraption that, if all went well, would preserve the egg as it hurtled toward the ground below.
All of this to-do over eggs was part of the 10th meeting of the McKinney ISD Battle of the Blues Physics Olympics held at the YMCA Collin County Adventure Camp on Tuesday, March 26.
An unbroken egg is always cause for celebration during the Egg Drop.
The event brought physics students from McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney High School and McKinney North High School together for a daylong clash of wits that tested their knowledge of physics and their ability to apply it.
"Physics Olympics is one of my favorite days of the year!" said Dr. Kendra Henke, MISD coordinator of secondary science. "We know what research says about brain development and how critical it is to apply learning through play—and that is exactly what this day is all about for our high school students."
Through a series of contests with names such as the Mouse Trap Car, Boat Afloat, the aforementioned Egg Drop, Slow Bike Race, Bowling BroomBall and Quiz Show, each team accumulated points in either the AP Physics or Physics category for their school by putting their physics know-how to work in the most effective manner.
The winning team in the Boat Afloat event placed nearly 180 weights in their boat before it collapsed and sank, surpassing all other teams by more than 50 weights.
"These events require curiosity, creativity and critical thinking," said Henke. "I’m never surprised, and I am always impressed at what our students come up with to solve real-world problems. It’s incredible to witness such innovation and ingenuity."
When the final results were tallied, it was McKinney Boyd who brought home the trophy for 2025, marking the third time that the Broncos have earned the Battle of the Blues Cup.
The Cup first went up for grabs in 2014, and the MISD Physics Olympics has been a friendly, but very competitive, rivalry ever since:
2014 — McKinney Boyd
2015 — McKinney North
2016 — McKinney Boyd
2017 — McKinney High School
2018 — McKinney North
2019 — McKinney North
2022 — McKinney North
2023 — McKinney High School
2024 — McKinney High School
2025 — McKinney Boyd
Winners for each event in the AP Physics and Physics categories also earned medals:
Slow Bike Race Winners:
(AP Physics) Team Bob — Boyd
(Physics) Super Conducting Squad — North
Mousetrap Car Winners:
(AP Physics) Subterranean Reptoid Overlords — Boyd
(Physics) The Charged Particles — North
Boat Afloat Winners:
(AP Physics) Team Bob — Boyd
(Physics) The Physics People — MHS
Egg Drop Winners:
(AP Physics) The Silly Goose Physics Team — MHS
(Physics) Newtonian Noodleheads — North
Bowling Broomball Winners:
(AP Physics) Team Bob — Boyd
(Physics) Charged Particles — North
Quiz Show Winners:
(AP Physics - tie) Glass Half Full — North
(AP Physics - tie) The Khanematics — North
(Physics) Techno Titans — Boyd
