On any given day, the act of egging an elected official might not be a good idea.
But on Thursday, with the blessing of State Representative-elect Steve Bergquist, students in Matthew Randall’s AP physics class at Lindbergh High School put their skills to the test in hopes of landing an egg atop Bergquist’s head.
Bergquist, who currently teaches twelfth-grade Contemporary World Issues, agreed to the egging after several students approached him about the experiment that involved hitting a moving target with a falling object.
Students worked in groups of three or four and measured Berquist’s height and walking pace. They also measured the distance from the top of the skybridge to the ground below. From there, the students applied skills leaned in their AP physics class to work through the calculations.
“As a product of the Renton schools, I want to bring attention to the great things happening here,” he said. “This is an opportunity to show off how bright our students are.”
And bright they were. One team scored a direct hit to the head and two others achieved indirect hits to Bergquist’s shoulder and left pant leg.
While he wore a white safety helmet, Randall was quick to point out that Bergquist chose not to wear the optional poncho despite having a class later in the day.
“This is more exciting because we all get invested in it,” said junior Casi Goodman. “In a classroom it’s hard to care as much, but out here we get to see how our work pays off.”
Kyle Medina, a member of the ‘direct hit team,’ said their key to success was good teamwork and double-checking the math.
“We originally had an error, but after double-checking we were able to fix the calculation before the experiment,” he said.
Bergquist will continue to teach classes at Lindbergh through January 8 before transitioning into his now role as State Representative. He will be sworn into office on January 14.
