Met Office: Balloon challenge

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Met Office balloon challenge

	Met Office balloon challenge

Introduction

As part of Science Year, the Met Office invited schools to join in the Met Office Balloon Challenge.

Pupils were asked to predict the final destination of helium balloons released from their school grounds. For Welsh schools this was on 8 March 2002, and for the rest of the UK it was on 20 March 2002.

About 95% of the balloons released were expected to rise to about 28,000 feet, where the air is thin and very cold. The cold temperature causes the latex to become very brittle and the thin air causes the balloons to expand so they shatter into tiny pieces. The remaining balloons that do not rise high enough to shatter drift with the wind currents for approximately nine hours before finally coming down to Earth, where they will break down as quickly as an oak leaf.

Science Year event calendar

Results

Altogether 126 schools took part in the 2002 Met Office Balloon Challenge, either on 8 March 2002 or 20 March.

Over 127 balloon tags were returned, of which eight were returned from Europe. The furthest were from the Czech Republic (released by Bryncelynnog Comprehensive School on 8 March) and Bundorf, Germany (released from Radlett Preparatory School in Hertfordshire on 20 March).

The best predictions for the 20 March release were by Class 5 from Highfields School, Huddersfield. For the 8 March release, the closest prediction was made by a pupil from Llandybie Primary School.

Barnston Primary School and Wooden Hill Primary School sent us photos of their balloon launch.

More results from 8 March

More results from 20 March

Information packs

Although the balloon challenge event has passed, the worksheets containing background information and activities related to the wind are still available as pdf files (168Kb primary, 428Kb secondary). Please print and photocopy as required for use in the classroom.

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