The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Students launch their own weather balloon
Schoolwide project brings excitement to Lewis Mills
BURLINGTON — Regional School District 10 launched a StratoStar high-altitude weather balloon into the atmosphere on Saturday, with close to 800 people gathered to watch it fly beyond the clouds.
Numerous community organizations were in attendance, with STEM-related exhibits and activities that included robots, Maker Spaces, rocket launches, an egg drop challenge, reptiles and games.
Due to technology failure, the weather balloon’s travel information is estimated. The weather balloon traveled about 160 miles, reaching an estimated altitude of more than 90,000 feet, and was in the air approximately 2-1/2 hours.
It was recovered in Chester, New Hampshire, 20 miles east of Manchester. After a 20-minute hike into the woods, the recovery team of Region 10 science teachers: Dave Grigociewicz, Tim Mischke, Jen Michnowicz and her son, 12-yearold James Michnowicz, found the balloon low in a tree over a pond. They threw a weighted line over it and dragged it out of the tree.
Several experiments were on board the balloon, including raw and hard boiled eggs, which were lost. The yeast that was on board will be spread on petrie dishes and allowed to multiply so students can see the results of the experiment — to see if the yeast are mutated by solar and cosmic rays at 90,000 feet and how the rate of mutation compares to yeast exposed to sun on earth (good data for skin cancer research).
In addition, a bag of potato chips exploded, some marshmallows were very deformed, and a worm that was put in came back safe and sound, with Grigociewicz promising him clemency for his contributions to science.