The Day The World Came To Hawley School

By Susan Coney

Imagine being 5 years old and walking into your school gymnasium only to find that a giant facsimile of the world has appeared overnight where basketballs once bounced. Such was the case on Friday, December 2, when Barbara Unikel of WhereAbouts, Inc, brought “The Earth Balloon” to Hawley Elementary School.

Sponsored by the Hawley Cultural Arts Committee, the purpose of the program is to extend and enhance the current geography curriculum. The Earth Balloon provides an incredible learning environment where the students have the opportunity to view accurate geographical locations on the outer exterior of the enormous globe and then enter the 20-foot model for a customized lesson emphasizing geography, earth science, life science, environmental issues, regional studies, or multicultural studies.

WhereAbouts director and educator Barbara Unikel takes students inside The Earth Balloon one class at a time and conducts age-appropriate programs ranging in length from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on the school’s scheduling needs. In a school setting the workshop can accommodate a maximum of 15 classes per day, working in groups of up to 30 people at a time.

As the monster-size zipper door opens, students are escorted inside by Ms Unikel, along with the classroom teacher and an additional volunteer. Once inside the enormous, inflatable globe the children are spellbound for a moment as the view the earth from a 360-degree perspective. At first Ms Unikel reassures the younger children that there is plenty of air inside the structure and that it is a safe environment. She allows the youngsters to pose questions or concerns during the educational experience.

The Dacron and silk, hand-painted globe provides a spectacular visual as the student can view the whole planet when seen from the outside and an expansive wraparound inside reverse view as well. The panel is constructed of 24 panels; each panel representing a different time zone.

The balloon is inflated with a small fan that is attached to the globe. The fan continuously circulates air throughout the model.

Inside the balloon educators concentrate on guiding students in making discoveries about how the world works and how the earth’s systems are interconnected. All of the programs are based on national geography standards, which are grade level based for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. The program is an interactive, hands-on learning laboratory where students leave feeling as if they are world explorers.

The lesson presented to the Hawley first graders revolved around the amount of land versus water on the earth and how much usable, fresh water is available out of all of the water covering the world. The students sat in a circle, while inside the gigantic model and rolled a small, blown up version of the earth back and forth from classmate to classmate. As each child caught the earth they were to identify if the thumb on their right hand was placed on a land mass or a body of water. Teachers were assigned the task of counting how many times the tiny thumbs landed on land or water and the group determined from the lesson that the earth most certainly is covered with more water.

Educational assistant Kate Hughes, who works with first graders in Kathy Leja’s class, said that it was a wonderful experience for the students. She explained that one of the students in the class was from England and that Ms Unikel was able to point out the location of England in relation to the United States for the children by using her red laser pointer. Ms Hughes also commented that each person who participates in The Earth Balloon program has a perfect view when inside.

Ms Unikel is a former fifth grade teacher, elementary principal, and assistant superintendent for instruction in Illinois. She has previously served as vice president of education at Chicago Children’s Museum. Ms Unikel, who lives in the Chicago area, travels throughout the United States and Canada customizing programs to meet the needs of individual groups. Age-appropriate materials of classroom ready activities are sent prior to The Earth Balloon’s arrival.