Kenilworth Science and Technology Takes On StratoStar Weather Balloon Project

by | Sep 18, 2014 | Weather Balloons

WAFB covered the story on a recent weather balloon launch. Elkhan Akhundov, a middle school teacher at Kenilworth Science and Technology in Louisiana, give his young scientists the opportunity to participate in a StratoStar weather balloonmission. The group’s main goal was to reach the edge of the earth’s atmosphere… and they did!

The Launch

While Akhundov and the students prepared themselves for the weather balloon launch, some of the young scientists talked about how excited they were for the launch. The team worked together to prepare the weather balloon by carefully filling the balloon and attaching three video cameras. The students counted down and released the weather balloon into the air and watched the balloon rise into the sky and out of sight.

The Chase

After launching, the scientists jumped into their cars and the chase began. They tracked the balloon’s progress, trying to discern where and when the weather balloon payloads would fall back to earth. When the balloon and Science experiments were found, they began to analyze the data and the video footage from their balloon’s flight. The data showed that the weather balloon reached a remarkable 97,000 feet before bursting and returning to the surface.

Check out the full launch video here!

Akhundov said it best: “It’s not that students don’t have enough potential or capability. We need to increase their motivation.” Seeing science, technology, math, and engineering in action really captures the interests of young students. The StratoStar weather balloon project fosters these interests with the hope of leading more students to major in a STEM-related field.

Now that you have seen how a StratoStar weather balloon launch unfolds, are you ready to bring the high-tech project to your school? Download our free e-book on how weather balloons impact all four areas of STEM.

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