I have a dream: a dream of bold and courageous scientific adventurers taking their lives into their own hands and exploring the great unknowns of our world and beyond!

And I can make it happen, I hope.

So here’s the plan – I intend to construct old fashioned hot air balloons (a la Professor Lowes Balloon) using modern standard party sized latex balloons filled with helium, with hairnet meshes and thread lines, paper baskets and intrepid Lego minifig adventurers.  They may or may not (depending on weight allowances) be packed off with diaries of their adventures to date.

And then, the resulting expedition will be sent off from the nearest hill to bravely explore the wonders of the world.

Like a strange new take on the old “send a balloon off with a note”, I’d like to send them off with a story of their adventures (probably to the moon!) and include a personalised email address or webpage URL so that if they are discovered, they can report in. 

But like any expedition, planning is most important – I have the helium, I’ll find some cream coloured balloons, I have the hairnets (Tesco!).  I’ve not got any thread, nor do I have copious amounts of lego minifig adventurers.  The following page was useful for the carrying capacity of a balloon: How Much Can a Helium Balloon Lift?  And I measured the weight of a minifig to be less than that of a single British penny.  Which bodes well.

Updates as I progress.  First tasks – find balloons (of the appropriate colours) and source minifigs.