Each year in October Albuquerque hosts the International Balloon Fiesta. Since 2016, visitors of the fiesta have had the opportunity to interact with an Ideum Hot Air Balloon Interactive. This year, visitors have the opportunity to not only play the Hot Air Balloon Target Competition, they can also experience our brand-new “Weather or Not to Fly” game. 

New Balloon Fiesta Interactive Software

Anyone who has ever attended the fiesta knows that they might not always get lucky enough to see the hot air balloons take flight. This is because the window of weather that is safe for ballooning is quite narrow. So what are the ideal weather conditions for going up in a hot air balloon and what happens if you fly during bad weather?

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Ideum has worked with the Balloon Fiesta to create a hot air balloon flight simulator to demonstrate how a balloon flight would go in various types of weather. Created for late elementary to middle schoolers, the flight simulator allows the user to choose a wind speed and temperature for a low elevation and a high elevation. The user then gets to see how their balloon flies with the weather settings they have selected, with the hope that the balloon flies within the ideal flight zone. The simulator also gives the user the option to have a random weather event, such as a rainstorm, occur during their flight. Anytime there is a random weather event, the hot air balloon animates to show the user why it would not be safe to fly in those conditions.

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While it will debut at the 2024 Balloon Fiesta, this flight simulator was created for educational outreach and will be used by the Balloon Fiesta throughout the year to take to schools and do demonstrations with students for a hands-on learning experience. 

Year-Round Exhibits at the Anderson-Abruzzo Balloon Museum

Ideum is excited and honored to continue to be included in an event and work with an institution like the Balloon Fiesta that is so central to the identity of Albuquerque and New Mexico. If you don’t have the opportunity to go to the Balloon Fiesta, you can also experience two interactive exhibits from Ideum at the Weather Lab in the Anderson-Abruzzo Balloon Museum year-round.