ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — Students from Baker Elementary are setting their sights on the sky.
With help from Appalachia IU8, the students launched a space balloon to collect data like elevation and temperature change.
“I enjoy doing like the stem research so we can like…find out more…about..like…where we are…and the space and stuff,” Sixth grader Abigail Shearer said.
Shearer, along with classmates Brenna Rupert, Karinna Wolfe, Bailey Kagarise, and Lavendia Gul, made a prototype for the project. They also helped out with Wednesday’s presentation, including blowing up the giant weather balloon.
“I was terrified it was gonna pop,” Shearer said.
Shawn Cerully and Sarah Brambley from Appalachia IU* said experiments like this one pique the interest of even the smallest minds.
“This is really life science. it’s different than just learning it out of a textbook, and so for us to be able to take that from the IU into the classrooms and to expose that to the kids is something that is pretty unique,” Cerully said.
After the balloon pops, a parachute will bring it back to the ground so the students can analyze the data collected.
And if you’re thinking how will they find it, there’s a GPS attached to the parachute.
