Up, up and away.
Well, the hot air balloon Bernard Sullivan inflated this morning actually only lifted about 25 feet off the ground, but it was enough to generate cheers and applause from the students at Yates Arts in Education Magnet School.
Sullivan, a student teacher at the school, inflated the 60-foot-tall and 50-foot-wide balloon on the lawn of the school. First, he used a fan to blow cold air into the balloon, then propane burners to heat the air.
As the balloon expanded, its multiple colors came into view. Initially purple and black could be seen, then green, red, orange and yellow.
“Wow,” the students yelled.
“It’s going up, it’s going up,” shouted one as the balloon slowly rose.
“It’s big. It’s huge,” said 9-year-old fourth-grader Kyle Olszewski.
For the last two weeks, Sullivan has been explaining to students how the balloon works. As the air is heated, it rises and causes the balloon to stand up. When it reaches a point called “equilibrium,” the balloon is perfectly balanced. Then, Sullivan gives it a little more air to make it go up.
“The balloon was cool,” said 9-year-old fourth-grader Annisty Gonzalez .
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