The Aeronauts Lesson for Middle School: Hot Air Balloon Engineering Design Challenge

Overview: Engineering Design Challenge 

Using only the materials provided, student teams will design and create a hot air balloon that will lift off of the ground, and they will track its altitude during the flight over time. 

Driving Question: How can we design, build and launch a hot air balloon and track its altitude over time? 

Learning Targets: 

• Students will collaborate to achieve a common goal. 
• Students will design and build a working model of a hot air balloon. 
• Students will describe the properties of gases and how a hot air balloon works in relation to buoyancy. 
• Students will learn and implement the Engineering Design Process while creating a model of a hot air balloon. 

Created by the AFT Science Cadre.

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