Pilot a Balloon

Air, air, everywhere, but what's in it, and what makes Earth's air so unique and special? Journey through the layers above us to uncover our atmosphere's composition and how it works to make life possible below. Pupils conduct...

It is more than just blowing hot air. Pupils first build a hot air balloon out of tissue paper by cutting enough panels of tissue paper to form a balloon shape and glue the panels together. Using a hot air gun, individuals then inflate...

Scholars investigate levels of nitrogen dioxide in the Pacific Northwest by examining the role of nitrogen in air pollution and how remote sensing can be used to measure nitrogen levels. An Excel spreadsheet calculates the difference...

How high did the ball go? Engineering teams build a working pneumatic system that launches a ball into the air. The teams vary the amount of pressure and determine the accompanying height of the ball. An extension of building a device to...

Introuduce your scientists to the differences in air at varying altitudes with a colorful explanatory graph. After some discussion, they view unbelievable footage of mountain-climbing Leo Houlding and a narrative about how he might do...

Glide into the study of flight. An engaging lesson has scholars research information on the Wright brothers. They develop props and produce a recreation of the first flight at Kitty Hawk. They then report on the event as if they were...

Humans aren't the only species to build structures with air conditioning—we weren't even the first! The video explains how a variety of species that live under and above ground design their structures to allow for air circulation. It...

Demonstrate lift to the class that is studying aerodynamics. In the stream of air produced by a blow dryer, little physicists place a wad of tissue paper and a spherical figure to compare. Or, if you have a vacuum cleaner and beach ball,...

How can people control a hot air balloon? The simple simulation allows scholars to adjust the payload mass, burner, and vent position on a hot air balloon and observe the changes in velocity and altitude over time. Challenge questions...

Watch those balloon cars go! Scholars build racers that run using the power of balloons and conduct races with the cars. They learn about Newton's third law of motion and how it applies to their balloon racers.