Good morning Flamingos!
Here you’ll be creating your own hot air balloons. All you need is some tissue paper or a small plastic bag (sandwich bag), glue or sellotape, a toilet roll and a hair dryer. Plus any materials you want to decorate your balloon.
In this experiment, you’ll be exploring forces, gravity, flight and density. What is gravity? Write your answers in the comments below.
To make your balloon, follow these instructions below:
If you are using a small plastic bag instead of tissue paper, skip straight to step 4 and sellotape the strip of toilet roll to the end of the plastic bag (once you have gathered up the sides). Then point the hair dryer underneath the neck of the balloon as normal.
Can you make your balloon travel in different directions? How can you change the speed of your balloon? What happens if you use a larger plastic bag? Challenge: Can you design and build a basket for your balloon – like the one Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard would have travelled in.
I can’t wait to hear about all your findings. Don’t forget to email me photos of your hot air balloons for me to publish on the News section of our website.