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Exhibit: Balloon School

This event has passed; please visit our main Events page for upcoming events.

Overview

Get Up Close to Ballooning!

In Balloon School, you can experience the technology and science of ballooning first hand. See a real hot air balloon envelope, gondola, and inflation fan.

The balloon above is called "The Grape Adventure" and was donated to the Balloon Museum in memory of its pilot Chet Brown.

A longtime visitor favorite is the flight simulator! Step inside the gondola to try your skills in guiding a hot air balloon to a targeted landing area.

Other sights you can see in Balloon School include a display about Buddy Bombard and the rise of luxury balloon travel. You can also learn how a gondola is weaved, how a balloon envelope is put together, and ballooning-specific rope knots!

The Balloon School is full of interesting displays and you will be surprised at how much you learn. Don't miss our 24,000 piece puzzle entitled “Life” (alternatively "Life: The Greatest Puzzle"), originally designed by Royce B. McClure. The puzzle, pictured below, measures 14’ x 5’ and right out of the box weighed 28 pounds! It illustrates the science of buoyancy and the similarity of air and water flow.

 

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