In David Johnson’s sixth-grade science class at Marshall School on Tuesday, it was a day fit for young scientists, as a dozen students assembled a weather balloon.
They turned screws to install a flight computer, making sure to wear gloves while touching the device. Otherwise, oils from their hands could compromise the latex and make it burn up prematurely in the Earth’s atmosphere. They assembled the balloon in anticipation of Sunday’s noon launch, as part of the three-day Duluth Hot Air Balloon Festival at Bayfront Park.
“I’ve never seen this before,” said Marshall sixth-grader Luca Schwartz. “So I think it’s going to be neat to see it go up and then disappear.”
Weather balloon launches, a Family Kite Fly, a coinciding craft beer village, hot air balloon basket exploration are all part of an event aimed at bringing families out for a few lessons in science and aviation.
“They’re bigger than you think,” said event organizer Ryan Kern.
“This is one way to get families outside where they can do something exciting together,” said Susan McClernon, president-elect of the Kiwanis Club of Friendly Duluth, which is sponsoring the kite fly along with Essentia Health.
The three-day festival is free. Scores of vendors and musicians will be converging on the event as well. There will be potential for hot air balloon launches twice daily, with launch windows beginning each day at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
It’s the second year for the event that’s officially dubbed Le Festival des Montgolfières à Duluth. Last year, unkind weather prevented any hot air balloon launches. This year, event organizers say families and other guests should hope for the best, but come for the rest.
“It’s an educational event that’s also entertainment,” Kern said. “It’s meant to be a free family event. Hot air balloon rides are one component. If the weather is conducive, we’re going to launch.”
Conceivably, families will get to go up in tethered balloon inflations. The event’s “balloon meister,” Ed Chapman, will determine each day whether launch conditions are suitable - meaning 4 miles of clear visibility, winds at 9 mph or less, and winds coming off the lake and not directing potential balloon traffic onto it.
Friday’s opening ceremonies will feature a “moon glow” after dark with a dozen or so hot air balloons lit and glowing to the music of the Big Water Band on the main bandstand.
“It’s picturesque,” Kern said. “They glow like giant jack-o-lanterns.”
Friday is Duluth Children’s Museum Day.
“We just think it’s something new for families to do,” said Stephanie Zervas, the museum’s vice president for special events. “We like to do things that spark the kids’ interest.”
The museum will have multiple displays, including a popular body bubble and a satellite challenge in which children make satellites, then test their flight capabilities in a wind tube.
“There are a lot of family competitions at that challenge,” Zervas said.
Saturday is the Family Kite Fly, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. McClernon urged visitors to arrive early. Last year, the Kiwanis gave away 3,000 kites. They are prepared this year to replicate that effort.
“We have a huge variety of kites,” she said.
The YMCA hosts Sunday, when Marshall sixth-graders will also launch their balloon at noon.
For the school-age weather enthusiasts, each day brings weather balloon launches.
Hermantown Middle School launches its balloon at noon Saturday from Bayfront Festival Park.
“To get actual information from a weather balloon excites the students,” said Madeleine Schmaltz, a Hermantown eighth-grade earth science teacher. “The GoPros help.”
Each weather balloon - Hibbing schools launch, too, on Friday from an on-campus location - is fixed with a GoPro camera in addition to a flight computer and a GPS locator. Marshall’s Johnson had last year’s GoPro footage displayed on the Smart Board in his classroom for students to see the western edge of Lake Superior from 19 miles up, or one-third of the way to outer space.
A St. Louis County Search and Rescue crew will locate the weather balloons after they parachute back to Earth, Johnson said. The St. Louis County Board helps to pay for the schools’ weather balloon projects. Last year, Marshall’s balloon ended up 30 miles away, between Iron River and Herbster in Wisconsin, Johnson said. The students review the GoPro footage and their teachers use the weather data gathered by the on-board computer to help further students’ understanding of the weather.
“They’re able to understand news reports better,” Schmaltz said. “They’re able to look up afterward and understand why it’s a 50 percent chance of rain.”
If you go to the Duluth Hot Air Balloon Festival, Bayfront Park
* Friday, noon to 9 p.m.
* Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
* Sunday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Five hot air balloon launch windows are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Friday; and 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting.
