The Earth Balloon

What is the Earth balloon?

Begun in 2004, the Earth Balloon is the Delaware Children’s Museum’s first school outreach program. This 19’ inflatable globe is constructed of 24 panels of fire-resistant Dacron sailcloth, one for each time zone. The Earth Balloon inflates, using its own special fan, in under 10 minutes and represents our planet, using actual satellite imagery, at a scale of 1” = 30 miles. A large zipper, located at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, provides access to the inside of this extraordinary learning environment.

What is the Assembly?

The Earth Balloon is a hands-on supplement to classroom learning. Using the Earth Balloon, students may explore a variety of geographic topics including:

• Time Zones
• Rain Forests
• Weather Patterns
• Plate Tectonics
• Ring of Fire
• Pollution
• Explorers
• Topography
• Water Cycle and Conservation
• Endangered Species
• Scale
• Oceans
• Continents
• International Trade
• Ancient Civilizations
• Lines of Longitude and Latitude
• Current Events
• World War I and World War II

We can design custom lesson plans featuring the topics your class is currently studying.

The Earth Balloon is best suited for class sizes of 30 students or less. The program starts with a world tour around the outside of the balloon and discussion of various features such as Continents, Oceans, Geographic Regions and Conservation.

The students then journey inside the earth for a more in-depth exploration of topics specifically tailored to the learning level of the group and the needs of that particular class.

Who is The Earth Balloon For?

The Earth Balloon program is adaptable to audiences of different learning levels - from Kindergarten through 12th grade. The program and its curriculum have been designed, with the cooperation of the Delaware Geographic Alliance, to meet the State of Delaware’s Content Standards for Geography. It is the goal of the Delaware Children’s Museum that the Earth Balloon program complement the geography, social studies and science concepts the students are learning in the classroom.

The Earth Balloon is wheelchair accessible.

What is Required?

The Earth Balloon requires a 17-foot unobstructed ceiling height. Please verify (by actually measuring) the ceiling height. It is difficult to tell the difference between a 14’ and a 17’ ceiling – they both look high! Easy access to an electrical outlet is needed as well. In order to set-up and use the Earth Balloon, the program must have exclusive use of the gymnasium or other agreed-upon location. If our facilitator has to compete with P.E. classes or lunchroom crowds, the benefits of the program will be greatly reduced.

Students will be asked to remove their shoes before entering the Earth Balloon.

What is the Cost?

The Earth Balloon program is $450.00 per day for a maximum of 6 hours, This time excludes set-up, take-down, lunch and breaks.

A Half-Day program costs $300.00 for a maximum of 3 hours, excluding set-up and take-down of the Earth Balloon.

Whom do I Contact?

If you have any questions or would like to arrange an Earth Balloon program for your school, contact our Earth Balloon Coordinator at 302-757-2621. Or you can e-mail at earthballoon@comcast.net