HAMMOND | Students at Morton Elementary School spent two days learning about the Earth from the inside of a 20-foot, hand-painted inflatable globe.

The Earth Balloon, brought to the school for two days by the Morton Elementary PTA, is offered by Whereabout Inc. and was attended by State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, and Hammond School Board member Albertine Dent.

"It's an amazing way to teach kids geography," Candelaria Reardon said in a news release. "It's great to see the PTA's efforts to inspire their chidlren and that the principal is open to new ways of learning.

Dent also was impressed. "I did not expect this," she said in the release. "It give a total veiw of how much water we have on our planet and kids can see hy we call Earth the blue planet."

Former teacher and principla Joy Kottra of Whereabouts taught students from inside the balooon and said it's more engaging than what a book can provide. "Its purpose is to help the kids put the pieces together and find patterns of the Earth. It is a perfec teaching tool," she said in the release.

Jan Whelan, school principal, called the event a "wonderful visual experience" for students.

Student reaction to the experience was positive. "It was cool," second-grader Chris Van Til said in the release. "I learned that I need to stop taking such long showers to save more water."

- For The Times