Cloudy with a chance of imagination! New additions to Inventionland tours have every visitor a little more “Chipper.” Read more!

Last week was a fun-filled week at Inventionland with several young groups visiting our creative space. But according to Inventionland’s own tour guide-extraordinaire, Sam, visitors were in for a fun surprise!

Now, young and middle school-aged children on a tour receive their choice of a Chipper or Stormy cloud balloon, which some may recognize from the pages of Chipper Cloud in Use Your Imagination – the children’s book published by our very own founder and CEO Mr. Davison.

“That was a surprise,” said Sam. “It was fun to see who grabbed Chipper versus Stormy. They were pretty excited about the balloons and book, too.”

  Chipper and Stormy BalloonsChipper and Stormy Balloons

From the pages of the book itself, “You’ve got what it takes to make amazing and creative things…you just have to believe in yourself,” says Chipper Cloud.

Inventionland’s Michael “Spicy” and Builder Jon seemed to take Chipper’s advice as they collaborated to create a “Cloud Filling Station” for an efficient and easy way to fill the new balloons.

Chipper and Stormy Filling Station

“We brainstormed a couple different ideas. Sometimes you think of [what you believe is] a really great idea and lay it out in your head only to realize, ‘Oh! It’s not going to work like that.’ It’s fun to brainstorm all the parts, so it works like it’s supposed to,” said Spicy.

To simplify the cloud-filling process, Spicy developed “mechanisms” for properly adjusting the length of the balloon string and also for making it easier to tie the string to the balloon once it’s inflated with helium.

“I cut a slit in the center to hold the part where you tie the balloon and then mounted [the trash can] to a piece of wood. Then, we heated the ends to round them or soften them so [no sharp edges] would damage the balloon,” said Spicer who was thankful for Jon’s assistance in the process.

From the looks of some “Chipper” faces, it looks like the new additions to the tours are being well-received. Schedule your group for an Inventionland tour today!

Chipper and Stormy Balloons

Copyright Inventionland, 2016