For the fourth year in a row, Brian Rohr and Rohr Balloons were proud to launch a hot air balloon research project at Sunnyvale ISD middle school for the 5th grade classes. The students designed and built their own hot air balloons, working together in teams, to learn what makes the hot air balloons float and enact this exciting science experiment. Once their balloon was built, they inflated them outside and researched their findings.
Brian Rohr gave a 20-minute presentation about the science of hot air ballooning, and the fun and experience of flight, then inflated a remote control balloon and flew it over them, then let the coach fly it around the gymnasium. The students absolutely loved the remote control hot air balloon!
To add to the excitement, while the teams were doing their research, Rohr Balloons gave the students tethered hot air balloon rides in a real hot air balloon outside. The students learned that hot air rises, and that a balloon floats because of the difference between the hot air inside the envelope, and the cooler air outside the envelope. They learned that hot air balloons use propane (just like their grills at home) to heat up the air, and that the balloon can release the hot air, or let it cool, to float back down to the earth.
Overall it was an exciting and successful day for Rohr Balloons and the students at Sunnyvale ISD Middle School and not soon to be forgotten!
Interested in a hot air balloon research project at your school? Contact Brian Rohr for more information.
