Effingham, Ill- The Touchstone Energy Balloonfest is held every year at Lake Shelbyville Visitor, but this year there will be a new fair added along to the festivities.
The Hot Air Balloon Science Fair is set to be added to Balloonfest this year and will be occurring on Friday, October 6th from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Grand Lobby inside the Lake Shelbyville Visitor Center.
The fair will also be a contest, and prize winners under different awards will receive the following:
- Highest Balloon Flight: Ride in a hot air balloon for Saturday/Sunday Morning
- Most Creative Balloon Design: Scentsy/Artsy Gift Basket
There will be a raffle held for all participants to receive a camping basket full of surprises.
During the event, Lake Shelbyville along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be adding STEM-related activities to the fair.
In our area, the STEM program has been integrated with the growing generations to really be able to grasp onto Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
In an interview with the U.S. Army’s Natural Resource Specialist Ashley Florey, she expressed how the Lake Shelbyville Project was awarded the Stem Project of the Year in 2016.
The United States as a whole has become a thriving global leader in part because of the scientists, engineers, and visionaries who have made an impact not just on a national scale, but a global one as well.
With that continued success in mind, the U.S. Board of Education along with President Obama worked during his administration to create the STEM education curriculum
In a released statement from the Board of Education, Obama then stated, “[Science] is more than a school subject, or the periodic table, or the properties of waves.”
“It is an approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore and engage with the world, and then have the capacity to change that world…”
Florey implored the importance of STEM education with the growing generation and is looking forward to the turn out for the event this weekend.
For those interested in taking part in the event there is still time to register. Please visit the Lake Shelbyville Visitor Center to sign up, and receive a hot air balloon kit
Please click the following link to find a full schedule of events Touchstone Energy Balloonfest
To listen to the full interview with Ashley Florey please click below: