Currently, 7th and 8th grade students are first introduced to the layers of the atmosphere, meteorology, and the planet through a presentation or book reading assignment. This project aims to provide middle school teachers kits to build and launch a High Altitude Balloon to show their students the atmosphere and curvature of the Earth first hand when students are first learning about relevant topics. We will connect them with a local SEDS chapter to aid but kits will require minimal know-how.
Students attending K-12 science classes are faced with presentations and book reading on the regular. Why not switch it up when you can? Giving students an experience they can use to help remember what they are learning will foster knowledge on a deeper level. Expanding their interests to what they are seeing, building, and learning in the process.
High Altitude Balloons are a great introductory project for middle school science students because they are simple to launch and build, they demonstrate science which the students are learning for the first time, and it gives them an experience they can always remember it by! HAB can be semi-expensive which is why they are not more commonly launched, but with micro-electronics today it is increasingly simpler and cheaper. This project will support changing how students learn about the earth!
We will educate 1000+ students across the US nation and work with our international partners to encourage the youth to take responsibility and initiative to develop a stronger tomorrow. While SEDS is an interest group that seeks to promote exploring and developing space, our best path forward can often come from unexpected directions; because of this the organization seeks to promote active leadership and involvement in fostering the debate of these topics, both among ourselves and the public.
