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Museum gives hot air a home

The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum adds to the New Mexico city's reputation among fans of the sport.

By ANNA MACIAS AGUAYO, Associated Press
Published November 27, 2005

[AP photo (2002)]

A hot-air balloon floats through the Albuquerque sky at sunrise. It is a common scene above the New Mexico city.

	[AP photo (2004)]
	A crowd watches a phalanx of balloons launch during the 2004 Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. The new museum will help visitors understand balloon flight and include exhibits that allow visitors to plan the logistics of a mock balloon excursion.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - One look at the autumn sky here, dotted each morning with colorful hot-air balloons, shows why the city has come to be associated with the huge balloons.

Created to recount the history of the unusual form of flight, the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum opened in October, during the city's annual Balloon Fiesta, which draws people from around the world.

"For people who aren't balloonists . . . there's a sense of wonder about how these things get up in the air. And who are these people that wake up so early in the morning to do this?" said Marilee Schmit Nason, curator of collections for the new museum. "Our museum will answer those questions and the questions people never knew to ask."

The $20-million museum will use interactive, computerized exhibits and an expansive collection of ballooning memorabilia assembled from collections of famous balloonists worldwide. The first hot-air balloon is believed to have taken to the sky in 1783.

It didn't take long for ballooning to become a popular amusement. In the 1800s, people attending festivals and fairs around the globe paid money for brief balloon rides.

As early as 1860, balloons also were used for advertising, as evidenced by a perfume bottle-shaped balloon in Victorian England.

"There were a lot of people who saw the possibility of making money from balloons," Schmit Nason said. "In some places, there were people paying money to be allowed to jump from the balloon with a parachute."

An Albuquerque saloon owner, Park Van Tassel, launched the city's first gas balloon in 1882.

There are two types of balloons: hot air and gas.

Hot-air balloons float because air inside the balloon is hotter than the air outside. Since hot air rises, enough of it will lift the balloon, and whatever is attached to it. Gas balloons - filled with helium or hydrogen - float because those gases are lighter than air.

Ballooning was revived in Albuquerque in 1971 when aviator Sid Cutter decided to fly a balloon to commemorate his mother's birthday. He enjoyed the ride so much that he learned how to fly and then invited balloonists from around the world to gather here for what is said to be the first international balloon festival.

"He was a great organizer and he got addicted to it," Schmit Nason said of Cutter.

Cutter said he is impressed by the opening of the museum, especially that it overlooks a field where balloons are launched.

"It's going to be a beautiful, beautiful experience to go to the museum during the balloon launches," he said. "I'm flattered that we finally got around to opening a museum."

With the new museum in place, children and tourists will have a chance to learn hands-on about what they're watching float in the sky, said Melanie LaBorwit, the curator of education.

Some of the exhibits will let visitors plan the logistics of a mock balloon flight. They'll have to make decisions ranging from what type of fuel to use to how much food to carry. Like real balloon pilots, visitors will gain an understanding of geography, how to tie knots, what type of fabrics fly best and the physics of keeping a balloon afloat.

BALLOON MUSEUM: 9201 Balloon Museum Drive NE, Albuquerque, N.M.; www.cabq.gov/balloon or 505 768-6020. HOURS AND ADMISSION: The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is adults, $4; seniors, $2; children 4 to 12, $1.

GETTING THERE: From Interstate 25 take the Alameda Boulevard exit. Drive about 1 mile west on Alameda. Balloon Museum Drive is on the north side of Alameda. That will take you directly to the parking lot.

ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FIESTA: www.aibf.org or toll-free 1-888-422-7277.

[Last modified November 25, 2005, 09:24:03]