Description
Meet the master puppeteer who invented the first balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Melissa Sweet brings to life the inspirational story of the puppeteer who invented the giant balloons floating in the sky during the annual parade celebrating Thanksgiving. The Caldecott Honor artist brilliantly captures the essence of Tony Sarg, a self-taught immigrant with a fascinating imagination.
How Macy’s Parade Balloons are Made – Tomorrow’s World Today®
From the above website
Fill With Air
A critical step is figuring out how much helium is required to fill the balloon. Not enough helium and the balloon won’t lift; too much and the handlers won’t be able to control it. It’s also important for calculating the overall cost of the balloon. Engineers calculate this by submerging the clay model in water. The displacement of the water, combined with the number of gallons needed to make the model float, gives them the magic number. While the numbers vary, the average is a whopping 12,000 cubic feet.
Finally, the moment of truth: making the balloon. When the Macy’s Parade first began, the balloon was sewn together manually from rubber. This was before the switch to helium (the balloons were originally filled with air). Today, polyurethane is used. The process is almost entirely automated, with the design being scanned into a computer. Machines cut the appropriate size pieces of material and heat-seal them together. Instead of the air hole seen on consumer balloons, these have zippers attached for easy deflation.
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