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.
I had a very special guest join me on my weekly television science segment this week. Anchorman Mark Koebrich took a break from his vacation and brought his 3-year-old grandson Jack to do a little science.
It’s never too early to start teaching tiny ones. Early childhood is the perfect time to start introducing science, learning and exploration. This is why teachers teach – to see the wonder and excitement that lights up children’s eyes when they get to experience learning firsthand. Jack was very shy and would only whisper his responses to my questions. We began with floating ping pong balls, moved up to balloons and then graduated to a beach ball. Jack’s eyes lit up bigger and bigger with each ball. We did the grand finale by blowing air under a toilet paper roll and shooting toilet paper out and over our heads.
