Above the Bell curates a turnkey STEM mission for your class with customizable curriculum, student experiments, live flight data, and full launch-day logistics included.
Five guided steps take your students from classroom lessons to near-space, carrying student experiments on a high-altitude balloon that captures it all. Timelines are flexible: most classes complete the mission in 4–8 weeks. Along the way, Wrigley helps introduce each phase, explain the science, and keep the journey fun and easy to follow.
Meet Wrigley, your mission guide
Guided mission lessons
Hands-on experiments
Live flight tracking
Near-space data & photos
MISSION BRIEFING
1Learn
Build the science foundation for flight
Before liftoff, students explore the science behind their mission, from weather and the atmosphere to satellites, space, and high-altitude balloon flight.
Mission Objectives
Learn how balloons reach near‑space
Explore the layers of the atmosphere
Claim a crew role & meet the sensors
What You'll Do
Begin the 10 Mission Briefings that continue through launch and debrief
Claim a crew role and start the Mission Notebook
Study weather, the atmosphere, air density, and temperature at altitude
Connect the science to space, satellites, and the sensors they'll fly
What We'll Do
Deliver a customizable NGSS-aligned* curriculum in print, digital, or both
Send a welcome kit to kick off the mission with the class
Support teachers and students as Mission Briefings continue across the mission
Prepare the next phase while your class works at their own pace
10 briefings across the missionPrint or digital materialsSelf-paced by default
MISSION PLAN
2Plan
Turn the science into a mission plan
Using digital Mission Control and real forecast data, students choose a launch day, refine their mission teams, and predict how their experiments will perform.
Mission Objectives
Pick the launch day & site
Choose the flight sensors
Predict the flight path & landing zone
Choose & prepare experiments
Refine mission teams
What You'll Do
Use digital Mission Control to plan the launch
Choose a launch day based on forecasted weather, and select flight sensors
Predict the flight path, landing zone, and experiment results
Choose and prepare experiments; refine teams around weather, flight, and payload
What We'll Do
Unlock digital Mission Control for your class
Recommend launch days, experiments, and flight paths based on the forecast
Review and approve the mission plan, then coordinate logistics
Ship the payload box to the classroom
Digital Mission ControlWeather-based planningExperiment predictions
T−1 WEEK
3Build
Pack the payload and finalize the plan
With the kit on-site for a week, students choose and prepare their experiments, pack sensors into the payload, dig deeper into how the sensors work, and finalize the mission plan before pickup.
Mission Objectives
Choose, prepare & pack experiments
Learn how the sensors work
Finalize the mission plan
What You'll Do
Choose and prepare experiments, then pack them with your selected sensors
Learn more about how each sensor works and what it measures
Review and finalize the mission plan with your team
Have the payload ready for pickup, one week before launch day
What We'll Do
Guide payload packing and sensor setup
Help the team review and finalize the mission plan
Finalize launch-day logistics, including FAA and other regulatory approvals and notices
Keep the kit on-site for a full week before pickup
Pick up the payload for final readiness checks
Payload packingSensor deep diveOne week on-site
LAUNCH DAY
4Launch
Watch the mission fly, live
On launch day, students log in and watch their mission in real time, while Above the Bell handles the physical launch, recovery, and every safety detail in between.
LIVEWRIGLEY‑1
ALT102,458FT
TEMP−60°F
ASCENT
LAT34.050°N
LON118.240°W
What You'll Do
Log in to Mission Control to watch the launch live
Track the flight path and sensor data as the balloon climbs
View live camera snapshots streamed from near space
Follow the mission through landing and recovery
What We'll Do
Launch and track the balloon under strict safety and FAA protocols
Track the balloon's descent and meet it at the landing site
Announce the official landing-prediction contest winner
Ship the recovered payload and experiments back to the class
Live mission trackingFAA-compliant launchLanding prediction contest
RECOVERY
5Discover
Bring the mission home and turn flight data into discoveries
Once the payload is back in the classroom, students unpack their experiments, analyze real mission data, and see how their predictions held up.
Mission Objectives
Unpack the returned payload
Analyze the flight data
Share mission discoveries
What You'll Do
Unpack the returned payload and experiments
Review the mission results and analyze what the data shows
Compare the actual results to your predictions from Plan
Share your mission discoveries with the class or school
What We'll Do
Deliver the recovered payload and experiments back to school
Send every student a certificate and mission patch
Award a prize to the landing-prediction contest winner
Support the class as they review and analyze their results
Certificates & mission patchesLanding contest prizeReal mission data
Ready to explore a mission?
Start with a conversation. We’ll take it from there.
Get in touch
Tell us about your group and ask your questions. We’ll do the rest.Tell us about your group.
Map the mission
We’ll walk you through how a mission works and map it to your goals.We’ll map it to your goals.
Receive your plan
We’ll deliver a mission experience that fits your group.We’ll deliver a plan that fits.
Get in touch
Ask your questions, share your goals. We’ll help you plan a mission.
