Toy Hot Air Balloon Launch

Old Sturbridge Village is one of my all-time favorite places to take the kids, so we made sure to visit twice (you can come back a second time within ten days) while we were in Massachusetts last month. The kids and I met up with a friend of mine from high school one day, and the second day Mike came along.

Toy Hot Air Balloon Launch

Watching staff launch tissue paper toy hot air balloons was a real highlight of both days, and was by far seven-year-old Johnny’s favorite part of the trip. We made a little stop motion video for those of you who want to see this but don’t have much time. It doesn’t have any sound.

And here is a video of two launches in real time, with sound:

The balloons rise because hot air is less dense than cool air, making it lighter than an equal volume of cold air. Air molecules in hot air have more energy and move faster. This means that more of them collide with each other, forcing air to expand. This expansion makes the hot air less dense than cold air.

Since these tissue paper and glue balloons do not have a heat source, they start to come down when the air inside starts to match the temperature of the air outside. The two days we watched the balloons launch it was pretty warm; they can fly really far on cold days!

Have you seen toy hot air balloons like these?

Learning and Fun for Kids Aged 5-12

I can’t believe that our summer vacation is nearly over! Here are some fun activities that were shared last week:

• Stock Market Basics for Kids from Pragmatic Mom
• Creative Thinking Challenge for Tweens and Teens from Grandma Ideas
• Dyscalculia: What it Looks Like and How to Get Help from Math Geek Mama

Now it’s your turn! Link up your learning and fun for kids aged 5-12 years old below! My cohosts and I feature our favorites each week, and we may also pin your post to our popular After School Activities board on Pinterest, or some of our personal boards!