Breakfast with the Balloons

13 March 2003

For the second year running Questacon is taking science to the skies. From Wednesday the 19th of March, through to the 21st, Questacon is running an interactive hot air balloon school program for primary and high school students. The event will celebrate the Canberra Balloon Festival, by inviting school groups to have breakfast with the balloons. Over one hundred Canberra students are expected to be part of the program.

The program, run in partnership with Balloons Aloft, will take place in Questacon Park, commencing at 6:30am. Students will be given a demonstration by the pilot of the Questacon balloon, who will talk about how a hot air balloon works, followed by a spectacular sky show, as a number of balloons are launched. The Lions Club will then provide a hot breakfast.

Continuing the balloon theme the students will then watch “Balloonatic”, an interactive theatre show performed at Questacon. The performance is aimed at showing the fun of science and revealing the scientific concepts behind the hot air balloon. The show incorporates balloon animals and zany experiments, while teaching the history of hot air balloons.

“Balloonatic” character Phileas (an expert on hot air and balloons) hopes to excite students about balloons: “I Love Balloons, They’re Very, Very Good!” he says.

Questacon hopes the program will encourage students to look to the skies and better understand the science behind air travel. This balloon program is just one more way for Questacon to make science fun and relevant to all.