CYPRESS : Balloon Experiment Is a Flying Success

Olivia Porter shouted in excitement Thursday as she watched her miniature hot-air balloon float upward.

“Go! Go! Go!” the 10-year-old yelled.

Olivia and 89 of her classmates in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades at King Elementary made 14 colorful, three-foot balloons as part of a monthlong science lesson on the forces of flight.

The students participated in a number of experiments during their science classes that led to the final one, which was witnessed by the entire school.

“They will definitely remember this one,” said teacher John Vestermark, 46, who has used the balloon experiment in his classes for 20 years. It is modeled after an experiment that one of Vestermark’s teachers used 35 years ago.

“That was the best day of the year for me, and these kids like it because it’s a hands-on activity that beats the drudgery of only reading about the subject.”

His students agreed.

“It’s real fun,” said Jeret Stroing, 11. Taking part in the balloon experiment “is better than just reading about it. It helps you pay attention more because you like it.”

Jared Brannon, 11, said he worked “extra hard” on the experiment.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t get any holes in the balloon, and that was hard because tissue paper rips so easily,” the sixth-grader said while waiting in line to hand his balloon to Vestermark, who filled it with hot air from an old potbelly stove.

“We learned all about flight, thrust, gravity and drag,” said Jason Maier, 11. “It was a lot of fun.”

After all the balloons took flight, the students watched a life-size balloon carry their teachers for a short ride.

The children cheered and clapped while the balloon went up and down.

“We’re really lucky,” Jeret said. “Most people don’t even ever see a hot-air balloon.”

A number of teachers whose students did not participate in the experiment said their pupils were going to write about it.

“These are the kinds of things that stick in the students’ minds,” said Vickie Bazz, a fifth-grade teacher.