Hiawatha Elementary students take flight, explore space

HIAWATHA – Hot air streams into the balloon, the tissue paper increasing slowly increasing in size against the small hands holding it in place.

Excited giggles can be heard as Kristen Mueller asks if everyone is ready.

“Let's countdown!” she cries. “Three, two, one!”

The members of Launch Squad let go and watch as their hot-air balloon burst several feet in the air. The wind picked it up, causing it to weave across the blacktop at Hiawatha Elementary School.

It was a successful flight. The next team, Space Boys, couldn't say the same. Their balloon bobbed a foot in the air before crashing to the ground.

The balloon made by team Dare Devils lived up to its name, shooting in the air and crashing into a tree. It hung from the branches for a few seconds before another gust sent it crashing to the ground.

“We worked so hard on this,” Carrington Moore, 11, said as he carried the torn yellow, red and orange balloon into the school.

The hot-air balloon was the result of two weeks of work by Carrington and his teammates, all of whom are Space Flyers.

Hiawatha's Space Flyers program meets every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, teaching 28 fourth and fifth graders about space and flight through hands-on activities.

Space Flyers' goal is to increase students' knowledge of STEM (science, technology engineering and mathematics), opening their eyes to possible career opportunities. On Tuesday, the students concluded their study of hot air balloons by launching balloons they constructed from tissue paper.

“It was cool,” Olivia Studt, 10, said after watching her team's balloon soar in the air. “I was afraid it would go in a tree.”

At the last second, though, the wind sent Laker Station's balloon flying into the parking lot.

Led by Mueller, a fourth grade teacher, and Jonnita Wiley, a fifth grade teacher, Space Flyers is funded by the Corridor STEM Initiative (CSI) grant.

Hiawatha is the first school in the Cedar Rapids school district to receive a CSI grant.

The group started meeting in January and will continue to meet through early May.

Space Flyers will be offered to Hiawatha students again next year.

“We're impressed with how eager the students are to learn,” Mueller, a fourth grade teacher, said. “They've been very enthusiastic and excited about all of our activities.”

This includes studying the history of the space program, designing mission patches and building hot-air balloons. Next, the students will build and launch model rockets. A field trip to Putnam Museum in Davenport to see “Hubble 3D” at the IMAX theater is scheduled for later this month.

“I think we've exceeded our initial goals,” Wiley said. “You know when their hands go up that everybody is thinking about something. They are figuring things out, putting all the information together.”

Both teachers said the students are using their new knowledge in the classrooms, sharing vocabulary and experiences with their classmates.

“It's fun,” Carrington said. “We've learned about parachutes and rockets and space. I can't wait to build the rockets.”

Hopefully it will avoid the trees.