Solar Bags are 50 feet long and are made from a very thin plastic. When inflated, the black plastic heats the air up inside the Solar Bag. The air expands and the bag floats in the air. Our fabulous and dedicated Steve Spangler Science crew ran across the outfield at Coors Field last week to fill the balloons up with air. We filled the stadium with Solar Bags.
Steve also gave 800 teachers, cub scout and girl scout leaders Solar Bags to take back to their group for a hands-on learning experience. If you are a teacher or educator that received a Solar Bag, we have a homework assignment for you. Give your students or kids a little lesson in the
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Our annual Weather and Science Day reached a new height this year with the launch of a weather balloon during the event. The weather balloon was launched with help from The Edge of Space. During it’s flight, it reached the edge of space at a height of 93,000 feet. That’s higher than Mount Everest and higher than what a military jet can fly (50,000 feet). The balloon drifted northeast and landed hours later near Synder, Colorado.
The underlying lesson was to work with The Edge of Space people who love flying balloons as hobbyists. Their dedication and passion to ballooning was inspiring.
Steve Spangler had two talented and amazing scientists join him this week on his television segment at 9News. Both Elli and Bryce had science fair projects that tested and used different types of oils.
Elli is a 4th grader. Her science fair project caught our eye because of all of the bubbling potions. Her project was to test which oil worked the best in making a homemade lava lamp.
She tested Wesson Oil, Crisco Oil and a generic oil. After adding water to a large amount of the oil, Elli dropped food coloring into the solution and then added an Alka-Seltzer tablet. The Alka-Seltzer separated the water and the oil and caused a bubbling reaction. All three oils performed well.
For this experiment, we traded fire extinguishers, exploding toothpaste and liquid nitrogen for balloons and cooking skewers…not an explosive experiment at all. Then why was Becky Ditchfield so nervous?
It’s so simple. Blow up a balloon and tie off the bottom. Then take a cooking skewer and stick it through the balloon. Impossible? Not if you have a little patience and know a little science. Becky definitely got the hang of it until she was asked to try sticking the skewer through a large balloon.
