FUN FACTS ABOUT THE HOT AIR BALLOONS
Hot air balloons were discovered in France in 1783.
At that time, in the laboratory, it was discovered that a fabric bag filled with hot air could rise.
In the beginning, to test for safety, balloons without passengers were sent up and observed.
The next step was to send animals up to experiment with different weights. Sheep, chickens and even ducks were used.
When everything was proven totally safe, a balloon with two men traveled over Paris for 5.5 miles, staying up 23 minutes.
This was the very first attempt made by man to fly.
Balloons have been critical to science as they have helped us study the weather and the atmosphere.
MAKE YOUR OWN HOT AIR BALLOON!
· Find a suitable plastic bag. Dry cleaning bags work well, but smaller garbage bags may also be used if they are very light weight. Such trash bags usually boast of high molecular density which usually translates to super thin, cheap, and flimsy. That happens to be what we're looking for.
· Attach straws together to form a circle with a diameter of about 12 inches. Do this without glue or tape by inserting the end of one into another and so on.
· Tape the opening of the opened bag to the circle of straws. Use light weight tape, and use it sparingly.
· Cut a 2 inch square out of thin cardboard like from that of an empty cereal box. Punch four holes near the center (the holes should be slightly smaller than the width of the birthday candles so that they will fit snugly).
· Attach a twelve inch piece of thread to each corner of the cardboard square. Insert candles into the holes you punched. You may need to adjust the center of gravity for our cardboard candle holder to hang properly.
· Connect the candle holder to the balloon's opening with the four threads from our candle holder so that it hangs down below the balloon. Make sure it is about a foot away from the balloon. Light it and let float!
Follow these easy instructions to build your own hot-air balloon! When you are finished you can take and post a photograph of your hot-air balloon so that we all can see what you have done!
Do you know how your hot-air balloon works? Share your ideas!
MR. BEAN’S RIDE ON THE HOT AIR BALLOON!
Watch this clip about when Mr. Bean went on a hot air ballon!
After watching this video, download the following worksheet and answer the questions: