Justification For Research
An extensive number of hands-on STEM activities have been provided for middle
school students across the nation, as mentioned in the literature review. Few have
involved ballooning activities, specifically targeting the middle school age range.
Previous knowledge of how to design and construct a payload from past Space Studies
Department and NDSGC balloon launches inspired the procedure of the VMS project.
Near-space balloon missions will only function with the appropriate materials and
technical expertise, qualities that the Space Studies department and NDSGC possessed.
Ballooning-related teaching opportunities are rare for the average teacher, who may not
have the time and knowledge of how to launch a near-space mission.
It was imperative to immediately reach out to the public schools in North Dakota
and offer the unique learning experience through ballooning. This occurred during the
2012 school year with multiple teachers from different school districts. The 7th-grade
class from the West Fargo STEM School was the most promising candidate for the
ballooning collaboration, but the mission was cancelled due to weather and ultimately
time commitments.