Manchester Students Conduct Stratospheric Experiments
May 12, 2023 at 1:41 a.m.
Manchester Students Conduct Stratospheric Experiments
By Jackie [email protected]
On Thursday, two stratospheric balloons were filled with helium.
Attached to the balloons were payloads that collected real-time data on student-created research experiments and weather information, according to information provided by Sue Gnagy, curriculum director at Manchester Community Schools.
One balloon had crickets attached to it, while another had rubber bands and weather-measuring equipment. A camera was also attached to the balloons so it could be livestreamed.
Bobby Russell, a STEM education researcher/advocate and the CEO of Quest For Stars, said the crickets were attached to see if they could survive a space-equivalent environment and the rubber bands were added to see what effect the stratosphere had on them.
Russell said, for the event, paperwork had to be filed with the Federal Aviation Administration for safety reasons. Before launching the balloons, Russell called the FAA to get the go-ahead for the balloons to be released.
Russell said the balloons will travel for a couple miles and then will pop.
After the balloons were released, there were chase teams that tracked and retrieved each payload at impact.
The project was brought through QFS, which Russell said is an educational-outreach program that brings study projects to students.
Russell said the project was to help students get interested in science and technology. He hopes students learn how to use math and expand their horizons through math.
Latest News
E-Editions
On Thursday, two stratospheric balloons were filled with helium.
Attached to the balloons were payloads that collected real-time data on student-created research experiments and weather information, according to information provided by Sue Gnagy, curriculum director at Manchester Community Schools.
One balloon had crickets attached to it, while another had rubber bands and weather-measuring equipment. A camera was also attached to the balloons so it could be livestreamed.
Bobby Russell, a STEM education researcher/advocate and the CEO of Quest For Stars, said the crickets were attached to see if they could survive a space-equivalent environment and the rubber bands were added to see what effect the stratosphere had on them.
Russell said, for the event, paperwork had to be filed with the Federal Aviation Administration for safety reasons. Before launching the balloons, Russell called the FAA to get the go-ahead for the balloons to be released.
Russell said the balloons will travel for a couple miles and then will pop.
After the balloons were released, there were chase teams that tracked and retrieved each payload at impact.
The project was brought through QFS, which Russell said is an educational-outreach program that brings study projects to students.
Russell said the project was to help students get interested in science and technology. He hopes students learn how to use math and expand their horizons through math.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092