Seven fifth-grade teachers and 170 students from Albert Cassens Elementary School participated in a high altitude paper plane project last year as part of the Global Space Balloon Challenge, an international initiative that involved 303 teams representing 48 countries from all levels of education. The ACES Team, which included parents and volunteers actively engaged in promoting STEM education, brought home the second place award in the category “Most Educational Initiative.”
Long-time parent volunteer Scott Fitzgerald entered the project in this event. Fitzgerald said that from that initial field of participants, 125 teams from 27 countries made it into the air. “It is amazing to see our project highlighted next to teams from all over the world.”
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According to the GSBC website, the Global Space Balloon Challenge (GSBC) is “the coming together of people around the world to simultaneously fly from every corner of the globe, celebrating an age where anyone can reach the edge of space for a few hundred dollars and a few weekends of work. By providing a specified launch window and central online platform, the GSBC enables teams to showcase their unique cultures while working together to educate the next generation and push the boundaries of what is technologically feasible.”
The process of flying a high altitude balloon all the way to space and bringing it back not only teaches the basics of science and engineering, but also teaches critical lessons of teamwork and organization, essential for any career path. The organization works closely with parents, teachers, professors, and other education organizations to help them build high altitude balloons with their students and then fly them safely.
Fitzgerald said the Team ACES entry into GSBC 2015 was designed to break the Guinness World Record for Highest Paper Plane Launch. This experience was a good match for the fifth-grade science curriculum as it includes the use of paper airplanes to teach concepts of force and motion. “The students built multiple drop-test models before a final design was chosen and launched in front of the entire school, media, and even the mayor,” Fitzgerald said.
The team achieved an altitude of 107,811 feet, which is more than 10,000 feet above the current record (data and supporting documents are currently being evaluated by Guinness). The project earned its second place award for successfully designing and executing an exciting project that supported existing curriculum while enhancing the educational experience.
The team’s prize was five education electronics boards from TI, two 350g balloons, and a 1m parachute from High Altitude Science.
Principal Martha Richey was pleased to see the students, their teachers, and volunteers recognized and rewarded for their accomplishments and hard work. “It was an outstanding project that integrated well into our District’s curriculum. It wasn’t just about launching the paper airplanes, it was about problem solving and using critical thinking skills to complete the task. It was a perfect extension of our curriculum.”
Fitzgerald, a District 7 parent and Southwest Airlines pilot, leads a volunteer program that promotes STEM education in District 7. The program began in 2010 as an educational outreach with foundation in the Southwest Airlines Adopt A Pilot Program, a program that uses aviation as a vehicle to teach goal setting, math, science and geography to fifth-grade classes around the country. The program has continued to evolve as resources and partnerships were established.
