Hot Air Balloon

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In this activity, learners build a hot air balloon using just a few sheets of tissue paper and a hair dryer. Use this activity to demonstrate how hot air rises due to density and how the volume of gas increases with temperature (Charles's Law). [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
30 to 45 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$1 - $5 per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 18
Resource Types:
Activity, Lesson/Lesson Plan, Model
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • 5 large sheets of tissue paper
  • 1 1"x6" strip of normal paper
  • scissors
  • marker
  • glue stick
  • hair dryer

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
      • Transportation Engineering
  • Physical Sciences
    • Heat and Thermodynamics
      • Heat and Temperature
    • Energy
      • Potential and Kinetic Energy
      • Energy and Power
    • Motion and Forces
    • States of Matter
      • Gases
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Atomic Structure
      • Volume and Density
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations

Informal Categories

  • Arts and Crafts
  • Model Building
  • Toys
  • Transportation

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Includes alignment to state and/or national standards:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

  • Oakland Discovery Centers

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Oakland Discovery Centers, 2012