🎈 Balloons

🟢 Ages 5–8
Score: 0 🎈
🎈 Why floats? Helium is lighter than air — just like a wood block floats on water! Larger balloons float up faster because they displace more air.
Click a balloon to pop it! 💥

🎈 Balloons — Why Do They Float?

Blow up balloons and watch them float! Discover why helium balloons rise while air balloons sink — and how the same buoyancy principle keeps ships afloat and hot-air balloons aloft.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Buoyancy: an object floats when it displaces more weight of air than it weighs itself. Helium is 7× lighter than air, so a helium-filled balloon weighs less than the air it displaces — producing net upward lift.

🎮 How to Use

Click the pump to inflate balloons with air or helium. Tie strings to keep them down or release to watch them float away. Change balloon size to see how volume affects lift.

💡 Did You Know?

Archimedes discovered buoyancy in his famous bath (~250 BC). The same principle lifts submarines, floats steel ships heavier than water, and lets fish adjust depth using their swim bladder — a built-in buoyancy balloon.