WHAT: Iowa City fifth graders will get a view of the earth they’ve likely never seen before thanks to a collaborative hands-on learning project with University of Iowa students and the School of the Wild.

WHO: University of Iowa College of Education science education clinical Instructor Ted Neal’s 13 elementary education methods students worked with UI graduate Kami Skay’s Shimek Elementary fifth graders earlier this week to design and build helium weather balloons that will carry cameras high into the sky to measure the curvature of the earth.

WHEN: They’ll launch the balloons and see them in action this Friday, April 25, from approximately 9:30 to 10 a.m. (Reporters, photographers, and videographers are encouraged to come a little earlier so they do not miss the action.)

WHERE: The School of The Wild’s Bluestem Shelter at Macbride Nature Recreation Area.

Directions to Bluestem Shelter:

• Take Dubuque Street across the interstate and into North Liberty
• In North Liberty, turn right onto Front Street (Frog Hollow Day Care is on the corner.)
• Follow Front St. out of town. Front St. will turn into Mehaffey Bridge Rd. NE
• After you cross the bridge over the Coralville Reservoir, take your second left into Macbride Nature Recreation Area (NOT McBride State Park.) Follow the road for one mile, and Bluestem Shelter will be on the left.

WHY: Neal says this outreach activity demonstrates to his students the value of learning that takes place outside of the traditional classroom.

For more information, call Neal on his cell phone at 319-560-5401.