Thank You for Joining Us Today!
Introduction to the AIAA Educator Academy
Space Weather Balloon Module
will begin at 2 PM EST
Don’t Forget!
You will need to call in for the audio portion
of this webinar:
Phone: 1.866.740.1260
Passcode: 2647527
Introduction to the AIAA Educator
Academy Space Weather Balloon Module
Ben Longmier
Longmier@umich.edu
Webinar Overview
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The Engineering Challenge of Bouyant Flight
Costs and Financing
Curriculum Module
AIAA Workshops Available
Capstone Event
Goals and Objectives
Today’s Webinar will:
• Introduce you to the concept and utility of a helium
balloon flight engineering challenge
 Design, Build, and Fly for HS students
• Convince you that materials are available to excite
students about STEM via this challenge
• Convince you there is available training for you to
execute the concept in the classroom / after school
• Inform you about resources for putting together a
Capstone Competition
Genesis
• Module stems from Project Aether
 Run by Ben Longmier from Houston (3 yrs), and now Ann
Arbor Michigan (1yr)
– http://ProjectAether.org
 Middle School, High School, undergrad levels of handson education
• Key Aspect
 Designed to be highly interactive in terms of gaining
hands-on build experience and field experience
Space Weather Balloon Concept
Challenge
• Construct equipment to fly to the edge of space
and back while:
 Tracking with GPS and radio
 Taking photos
 Performing an experiment
• Flight takes 2-3 hrs, travels ~100miles
 Recovery can be in remote areas
• Future engineering design challenges
 For now, just surviving and getting back is the
challenge!
Setting Up to Fly
Launch Day (or night)
Inflation
Taking Off
Tracking
Recovery
Costs – Reusable Items
• Reusable Items – 1 per teacher
 Power Pole
– Kelvin 851508 - $199.95 – www.kelvin.com
 16V DC Transformer
– Kelvin 841051 - $125 – www.kelvin.com
• Potential funding with AIAA Educator Grant Program
 Currently $250 per teacher, 2 teachers per school per year
– https://www.aiaa.org/Secondary.aspx?id=4184
 Should also contact your local AIAA section for support
Cost – Consumable Items
• Cost per plane for a proven foam wing design is
< $10
 With team of 4 student < $2.50 a student
Curriculum Module
• Contains a 12 week lesson unit plan for the
classroom to prepare for
 Planning, Launch/Recovery
 Experiment ideas
 List of supplies
Curriculum Module – National Standards
• Correlation to National Standards
 Science Standards 9-12
 National Education Technology Standards for Students
(NETS·S)
 National Math Standards K-12
 National Languages Arts Standard K-12
Curriculum Module – Glossary of Balloon Terms
• Balloon Terms
 Atmospheric pressure, aurora borealis, bar, millibar,
buoyancy, buoyant force, cosmic ray, geomagnetic
storm, magnetosphere, metrology, payload, space,
near-space, outer space, sprites, telemetry
Curriculum Module – Background Information for
Educators
• Historical Perspective on Balloon Flight
• Uses NASA Engineering Design Process for
Secondary Students
Curriculum Module – Background Information for
Educators
Curriculum Module – Week 1
Curriculum Module – Week 2
Curriculum Module – Week 3
Curriculum Module – Week 4
Curriculum Module – Week 5
Curriculum Module – Week 6
Curriculum Module – Week 7
Curriculum Module – Week 8-12
Cracking The Code
• Not all teachers will feel comfortable with all
aspects of a Balloon launch and recovery
 Science and Math Teachers will understand the STEM
Content but not how to build balloon payloads
 Tech Teachers may know how to build balloon
payloads but not feel comfortable with STEM Content
 Some after school programs are run by dedicated but
overwhelmed Liberal Arts teachers
• A workshop demonstrating the payload build and
launch process in practice is highly helpful!
Educator Academy Electric Cargo Plane Workshop
• AIAA IDC Funded Through September 2014
• Instructors
 Ben Longmier – University Professor
– University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering Dept.
 Gar Bering– University Professor
– University of Houston, Physics Dept
– AIAA STEM K-12 Chair
 Liz Henriquez– High School Teacher
– lead curriculum developer and faculty member for the
New Jersey Center For Teaching and Learning
Educator Academy Space Weather Balloon Workshop
• Setup Day Before
• Workshop Schedule
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8 – 8:10 – Welcome and Introductions
8:10 – 9:30 – Formal Instruction
9:30 – 12:00 – Building Payload Commences
12:00 – 12:40 – Lunch
12:40 – 1:30 – Building and Refining
1:30 – 4:30 – Refining and Launch of small balloons
Educator Academy Space Weather Balloon Workshop
• Supplies
 AIAA Provides Specialty Items
– Weather balloons, Lunch box payloads,
– basic tracking hardware for example launch
 Host provides locally available supplies
– Consumables paid by AIAA
» Helium, foam construction materials, …
– Non-Consumables provided by Host
» Tools, Garbage Cans, Shop Vac, PC projector, …
Capstone Event
• Training materials are available for holding
capstone event by AIAA Section or Local Sponsor
 Webcast this Fall
• Hope is to have a series of Regional Challenges
that feed into an Institute level Challenge
Thank You for Attending Today!
Additional Questions and Information:
• Ben Longmier, STEM K-12 Committee,
Longmier@umich.edu
• Gar Bering, STEM K-12 Chair, ebering@central.uh.edu
• Lisa Bacon, AIAA Program Manager, LisaB@AIAA.org
• Helpful websites:
 Curriculum module: https://www.aiaa.org/AIAAEducatorAcademy/
 Example program and supplies: http://www.projectaether.org
 Flight predictions: http://predict.habhub.org/