- April 25, 2024
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A group of students in the STEM Club at Belle Terre Elementary School stood in a circle around District STEM Coordinator Jose Nunez May 8, at the school’s STEM Expo.
The main event was the launch of a weather balloon, a joint project between students at Belle Terre, Indian Trails Middle School, Old Kings Elementary School, Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
The project goal is to give middle and high school students a real-life opportunity to assist professional engineers and amateur radio enthusiasts from the Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club to design and build a tethered weather balloon for aerial surveillance and two-way communications for Flagler County Emergency Services Agencies.
In addition to the goals of the radio club, students are working to collect real time temperature, humidity and barometric pressure data as well as biological samples of insects and pollen at different altitudes.
The project is funded by a $5,000 Motorola Solutions Foundation “Innovation Generation” Grant, which was acquired by the Flagler Education Foundation.
“We don’t know a lot about what’s up there and there’s a lot to learn,” said Belle Terre STEM Club student Kayla Grude. “I love science, I love math; everything about it is just fun — I’m naturally good at both. With science, just exploring, finding new things it makes me excited.”
The Thursday afternoon launch was the second, the first taking place on Earth Day. Eventually, the tethered balloon will be let go and flown at 100,000 feet.
“The students are understanding aerospace technology, weather technology,” Nunez said. “Teaming with Riddle, the students learn a lot from them and they learn a lot from us.”
