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Recently, a group of eighth grade students from St. Albert, Canada, experienced the height of scientific exploration when their end-of-year experiment turned into a rescue mission.

Seeking to track the distance traveled and the height achieved by a high-altitude balloon, the group of students attached a video camera, a GPS tracker, a GPS antenna, and a still camera to the balloon and set it free over the Canadian countryside. They fully expected the apparatus to land safely in a nearby field.

The students were instead bewildered to discover that the balloon had traveled 60 kilometers west of the Edmonton area and had landed in a restricted surface coal mine. Donning protective gear, the group went in search of their missing equipment, only to be disappointed. It was not until several days later that they balloon was finally spotted by a mine worker, who rescued and returned the valuable apparatus.

While the experiment certainly did not go according to plans, the lessons learned were invaluable. After analyzing the data collected by the balloon’s attached technologies, the St. Albert students were able to garner a variety of enlightening scientific observations. They reflected back on their planning and design to discover the areas where they were effective and those where they have room to grow.

Inspiring the next generation is no easy task these days. It takes a lot of effort to stack up against video games and HDTV. When students have the opportunity to utilize equipment like GPS tracking devices in the classroom, their education is taken to a new level of discovery. What better way to motivate them to continue learning and growing educationally? Here is an opportunity to make learning both fun and inspiring, and science educators are ready to jump on board.