Hot air balloons floating across the city skyline is an iconic, early-morning Melbourne sight. But a new aircraft is rising.
Museo Aero Solar is a flying museum—a hot air balloon made from at least 400 re-purposed plastic bags. Each bag is illustrated and written on by the local community, teachers and young climate activists; with the aim of reconnecting the community to the natural world from which the balloon’s materials originate. The balloon becomes buoyant using nothing more than the heat of the sun and infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface, there are no burners or fossil fuels here.
Devised by the international, interdisciplinary, artistic community Aerocene—founded by artist Tomás Saraceno to promote environmental awareness around atmospheric pollution—Museo Aero Solar has been inflated at more than 20 locations worldwide, incorporating materials from past flights. In view of the sunrise, it’s a giant representation of a global community.
