Something great about StratoStar high altitude balloon launches is how excited it can make the students and everyone else in the community. Ms. North of Indian Valley noted that school administration, including the superintendent, stopped by multiple times during each stage to see how things were going. Parents of the students even showed up to watch the launch and returned to Mission Control to watch footage from the onboard weather balloon cameras. Mr. Jenkins had students that weren't even in his class asking how the experiments were shaping up. When it came time to launch the balloon, students from all four grades watched as the balloon lifted into the sky and disappear into the clouds.
The launch was incredibly successful and everyone involved had a great time. The students engaged in real world problem solving and got to send experiments into an environment that is usually reserved for NASA scientists. I promised you a video of the launch in the last post so below you will find videos which highlight the entire experience of launching Captian America and Darth Vader to the Edge of Space while collecting real time sensor data from experiments:
Indian Valley Flight Video:
Indian Valley Teacher and Student Testimonies:
Does this experience sound like something you could use to unlock your students' curiosity? Contact us for more information. We would love to talk to you.
By Jason Krueger
Twitter @StratoStar4U
What Professors Are Saying
Its exciting for the students because it has both an air and near space component to it and you have to work of a geographical area, you are not confined to a lab or classroom.
Dr. Glen Kissel
University of Southern Indiana
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