our mission

In AP Environmental Geoscience (APEGS) classes at Mt. Lebanon High School, teachers Mr. Vince Scalzo and Dr. Mike Gullo share the story of the 2015 weather balloon group, 40 students who worked together to create their product from scratch. To many of the APEGS students in 2019, the idea of a project deeply rooted in engineering, scientific reasoning, and collaboration was exciting.

As juniors at the time, students got together to brainstorm possible projects in early 2019 with the help of their environmental science, biology, and physics teachers. After much debate between ideas like an underwater rover and a renewable energy product to help the school, they settled on a weather balloon inspired by the one created in 2015 but with a different purpose. The 2019 balloon group, now nicknamed BioBalloon, aims to investigate how conditions like cosmic rays and UV light impact biological growth in seeds and yeast. After Mt. Lebanon School District Director of Technology Mr. Christopher Stengel provided financial help, the team was officially on its way!

By coordinating schedules in the summer, students from the vehicle, launch/land, and sensors teams met to construct the payload, connect the parachute, and plan for the balloon. They had to consider challenges such as harsh temperatures that could freeze yeast cultures and harm electronic equipment as well as many possible landing conditions. Meanwhile, the biology team wrote the procedure for the yeast and seeds and practices plating.

We launched on February 15, 2020. Our first attempt did not quite work; there was not enough helium in the balloon, so the payload did not rise more than a foot. We regrouped and put more helium in the balloon, and then sucessfully launched around 10 AM. The payload was in the air for a little over four hours, and it landed in a suburb near Harrisburg. We were able to retrieve everything!