Place/Event: National Balloon Museum and U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame
Location: 1601 N Jefferson Way, Indianola, IA 50125
Cost: See the website for all options and admission fees.
Grade/age range: K-12
Group size: large or small (they will split large groups)
Hands-on: Limited
Stroller friendly: Yes
Bathrooms: Yes
Food: No

The Museum

The National Balloon Museum is staffed by very knowledgeable volunteers who are experienced in ballooning and have flown hot air balloons.

The museum offers the history of ballooning and has over two dozen baskets on display. Our younger students had fun watching a film about a clown who flies in a hot air balloon and answering quiz questions at the end of the film.

National Balloon Museum and Ballooning Hall of Fame Indianola

what would be inside a hot air balloon

our guide is a pilot and trains students how to fly a hot air balloon

Learning how to land a hot air balloon

There is a smaller children’s learning center with a few games, books, puzzles, and a basket they can stand or play in. This would be an idea for keeping little ones busy if an older student was researching in the library.

The library is across the children’s area and is filled with books, resources, and information on ballooning and its history.

Pilot License

If you have a budding pilot – sign them up for hot air balloon lessons. Students as young as 14 years old can apply for a learner’s permit. At 16 years old they can have their own pilot license and a commercial license at 18 years old.

At Home Experiment

Visiting the National Balloon Museum sparked my kid’s interest – so we came home and tried out a few science experiments. PBS Kids had a great little video that helped my kids remember what they learned on the field trip. I found a neat science experiment from Learng4Kids.net.