ANDERSON — High school students from east-central Indiana will put their knowledge of science to use in the sixth annual Iron Egg Launch Design Competition on Friday.

The competition, sponsored by the Purdue College of Technology at Anderson, will take place from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Anderson University Flagship Center, 2705 Enterprise Drive. In case of rain, the event will take place May 1.

Elwood, Frankton, Lapel, Avon, Cowan and Delta high schools are participating.

In the competition, groups of four to six high school students will design and build an apparatus to launch a raw egg at a target 25 meters away. The device must include a container to hold the egg and keep it from breaking upon landing.

David Riegle, Purdue’s Anderson/Muncie student services coordinator, said the purpose of the contest is to give students an opportunity to put the math, science and communications skills they’ve learned in high school into an educational project. He said the activity allows them to see how scientific concepts apply to real-world situations.

Teams also must submit a written report that includes design schematics, a budget, the scientific basis for the device and other information. They are judged on a combination of launch accuracy, creativity, egg protection and quality of the written report. For the first time, students will be required to produce either a brochure or a Web page to explain how their device operates.

This year’s event is sponsored by the Anderson Federation of Teachers; the Broadway Veterinary Clinic, LLC, Anderson; the Independent Federal Credit Union; Robert D. Loose Funeral Homes and Crematory; and D.J. Angus Scientech Educational Foundation, Indianapolis.

To learn more about the competition, go to http://www.tech.purdue.edu/anderson/egglaunch/index.html or contact Riegle at 765-648-2903, riegled@purdue.edu