Our program "Up and Away with Hot-Air Balloons" consists of two segments, an illustrated presentation and a live demonstration.

Presentation

The heart of our program as far as education is concerned is a 30-minute teaching session. This is illustrated with colorful slides and teaches all about how balloons work and what they do. This talk touches on history, science, language, pilot licensing, character, careers and more. Its emphasis can be adjusted to connect with a science or history fair, a reading program, red ribbon week, you name it. Adults as well as students will be amazed at how much they learn.       

Demonstration

To complement our slide talk we always do a demonstration of a real, live on-site hot air balloon. This exciting demonstration might be done either outdoors or indoors (or both!)

Your pilot will inflate the hot-air balloon right before your eyes. Let's face it, this part is just plain cool! Balloons are huge, and the mere size of the inflated craft is a marvel. No program is complete without the chance to see the balloon up close and personal, in all its glory.

The demonstration can be accomplished indoors or outdoors.

Outdoor Demonstration:

This is what most people think of when they imagine a balloon coming to school. If you wish, and if the weather permits, we might be able to inflate the balloon on a ballfield or in the schoolyard. Once the balloon is inflated and upright, if the wind is calm enough, we might even be able to give one or a few rides up and down on a tether. (We will keep the balloon tied with ropes so the wind will not carry it away.) Students are really excited seeing their principal or ateacher go up for a ride. This demonstration takes about 45 minutes.

Indoor demonstration:

If you prefer, we can do an equally exciting (and even more educational) demonstration indoors in a gymnasium, cafeteria, multi-purpose room...or whatever facility you have. This demonstration is also our backup when weather prohibits inflating outdoors.