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Description

Find out how hot air balloons work by crafting your own and watching it fly up, up and away.

Resources

Sticky tape
Cardboard tubes
black bin bags (preferably biodegradable)
Hairdryers (ideally, enough for one for each group)

Instructions

Before you begin

Invite parents or carers, Young Leaders and adult volunteers along to assist with this activity.

It's important you have a good ratio of helpers to young people, to make sure this experiment is done safely.
Prepare the balloons

The person leading the activity should split everyone into small groups and assign each one a helper.
Each group should have a black bin bag, cardboard tube (such as an empty loo roll) and a hairdryer.
One person in each group should take the bin bag and wave it around so it fills with air, then hold it upside down and let go.

The bag should float down to the ground. Each group should talk about what happened and why they think it happened.
Launch the balloons

The helpers should tie the bag handles together so that only a small opening remains and tuck the handles inside so they’re not loose.
Helpers should then slide a cardboard tube into the bag opening.

This will make it easier to fill the bags with air, and will also reduce the risk of the bags melting.

While the helpers hold the bags, one person from each group should fill them with air, using the hairdryer on the coolest setting. As they fill with warm air, they should tug away and eventually fly.

The cool setting will still create warm air but won’t melt the bags.

The person leading the activity should ask everyone why the bag floated with the warm air but not the cold air.

Warm air particles are lighter than cold air particles and rise.

Everyone should have a go at either putting air in or holding the bag.
The person leading the activity should then gather all the groups together and hold a race to see whose balloon goes the furthest or highest.

You could mark each balloon with a different sticker so they don’t get mixed up.

Everyone should collect their balloons afterwards, so they don’t create litter or a hazard to local wildlife.

Tags

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Badge Links

• Air Activities - Model
• Scientist - Hot air
• The Great Indoors - Practical skills