What's That in the Sky? Is it a Bird or a Plane? Nah, It's Science!

If you were at Weather and Science Day last week, you saw our giant flying sausages, the Solar Bags.

Solar Bags are 50 feet long and are made from a very thin plastic. When inflated, the black plastic heats the air up inside the Solar Bag. The air expands and the bag floats in the air. Our fabulous and dedicated Steve Spangler Science crew ran across the outfield at Coors Field last week to fill the balloons up with air. We filled the stadium with Solar Bags.

Steve also gave 800 teachers, cub scout and girl scout leaders Solar Bags to take back to their group for a hands-on learning experience. If you are a teacher or educator that received a Solar Bag, we have a homework assignment for you. Give your students or kids a little lesson in the properties of air and inflate your Solar Bag. Take pictures and videos of the experience and upload on the 9News site under the SendIt tab. Your video may be featured on upcoming episodes with Steve Spangler.

You can also use dry cleaning bags for a classroom demonstration. Using a heat source on the ground, completely deflate the dry cleaning bag. Hold the bag over the heat source with the open end down. Warm air is less dense than colder air, so the bag should begin to inflate and float.