Most of us have seen an air balloon, and honestly I do think 99% of us would love to ride in one, but have you ever, truely thought about how it works.
How a hot-air balloon works?
A hot-air balloon can float because the air that is trapped inside the balloon is heated by the burner. It makes the air inside the balloon less dense than the air that is trapped inside. In return it then makes it rise.
Here is a video to explain to you exactly how it works:
Today we are going to do two activities. One science activity and one art activity. Hope you enjoy it.
Activity 1: Hot air, cold air Science activity
Image Source
You will need the following:
- Two containers (One with hot tap water and one with ice and cold water)
- One balloon
- One 2 liter bottle
*Don't use boiling water!!
Instructions:
- Fill up the containers one with the hot tap water and one with ice and cold water.
- Blow the balloon up to stretch it. This will make it more flexible to put it over the bottle. Now let the air out.
- Place the balloon over the mouth of the empty plastic bottle.
- First place the bottle in the container with the hot tap water. Leave it there for a few minutes and see how the balloon inflates and then expands.
- Put the bottle in the container with the ice and cold water. Now watch how the balloon starts to deflate and contract.
Activity 2: Art activity
You will need:
- A3 paper with a circle drawn on the top part of the page.
- Different color strips of paper.
- Glue
- Crayons
- Cotton wool
- Water and blue food coloring.
Instructions.
- Take one strip of paper and fold each end about a centimeter on each side. Make sure that the folds shows the same way.
- Paste glue on the folded parts and paste them on the edges of the circle. The folded edges mustn't show
- Weave the rest of the strips to create the same effect as in the pictures.
- Draw in the basket and the rest of the hot-air balloon.
- Mix a little bit of blue food coloring and the water. Paint the rest of the page to create the sky.
- Paste the cotton wool in different places to create the clouds.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY: Have fun!
