Hot Air Balloons
Hot Air Balloon Challenge: Your challenge is to design at least two different hot air balloons and test to see which design works best. You will use the Pitsco Hot Air Balloon kit for your first design and follow the instructions provided. The other balloons that you design are your own idea. You may use different materials and make it different sizes to see what works best!
SMART Goal:
In the next 6 days, we will use tissue paper, glue and other materials to design and build at least two different hot air balloons that will successfully hold hot air and launch.
Design and Create
Watch the video to learn how hot air balloons work and for directions on building your hot air balloon.
Testing
You will be using the Indoor Balloon Tester to launch and test your design.
Take a video of each launch and time how long your balloon stays in the air.
You will also take a video of yourselves talking about the results.
Here are some talking points to include:
Was your first launch successful? Describe what happened?
Did you have to make any improvements or fix anything between launches?
How long was your hot air balloon able to stay afloat?
Explain the science behind it? What makes the hot air balloon rise up in the air and stay up? Why does it eventually come back down?
**Include these videos on an additional slide in your STEM notebook.
new design, create and test
Now it is time for your team to come up with a new design.
Do you want to use different materials?
Do you want to use the same materials, but create it in a different shape or size?
Your plan should include thinking about why this new design would work better than the first design. You may do some research as you brainstorm.
Sketch out your new design on paper.
Create a list of specific materials that you will need for the new design to show Mrs. Wilson.
Design and Create
Testing
You will be using the Indoor Balloon Tester to launch and test your design.
Take a video of each launch and time how long your balloon stays in the air.
You will also take a video of yourselves talking about the results.
Here are some talking points to include:
Was your first launch successful? Describe what happened?
Did you have to make any improvements or fix anything between launches?
How long was your hot air balloon able to stay afloat?
Compare the results of both balloons. Did your new design stay afloat longer than the first design?
What were some challenges that you had with creating your own design?
If you had time to create another balloon, what would you want to do differently next time and why?
**Include these videos on an additional slide in your STEM notebook.