F.A.Q. - Frequently asked questions

You can get those modelling balloons in every shop that sells goods for jugglers and magicians. You should pay attention to quality since the cheap balloons very often don't endure the strain of every twist. We recommend balloons of the company Qualatex or Prestige. One bag with 100 balloons is the size to look for because it means that the balloons are delivered directly from manufacturer to customer.

Our method does not replace all other methods. We consider it an additional method to impart knowledge. One advantage is the size of the sculptures. It is easily possible to build a benzol ring and to hang in transparent round balloons as p-Orbitale. Because of this it should become clear to the students that you can't say exactly where the double linkage is. Such a model made out of Styrofoam is rather expensive and takes away a lot of space in during the time it isn't used. Think about it: How often do you really use such a model in your lessons? Therefore, if there isn't one of those models at your school yet, our method can save some high costs. There is one further main advantage though: Not only benzol can be visualized easily with this method but also bigger molecules that won't be in a normal school collection. Of course you can use different construction kits, but then the models will be so small that either you will have to built a huge amount of them so that every student has one model in front of him or her during explanations or you will have to pass one model around for them to look at and explain afterwards two-dimensional at the blackboard. The balloon molecules allow us to explain matters in a three-dimensional model first in front of the students and afterwards it can be passed around so that the students can have a close look at it.
Another advantage is that the students can build smaller models themselves and can easily take them home. This would not be possible with other models since those are too expensive.

In this case there are three possible sources of error:
1. Your hands or fingernails might be too rough or sharp. Also greasy hands aren't suitable to sculpture balloons. Of course, sharp rings can also be 'dangerous' for balloons.
2. There is too much air in the balloons. This can be avoided by letting out some air after you have blown up the balloon. The balloon should be easily to dent with your fingers.
3. The balloons have been stored wrong. Tips for correct storage.

The balloons shouldn't be exposed to severe changes in temperature or sunshine for a longer period of time: The balloons don't like ultraviolet rays. The best storage is in a fridge. The chemistry laboratory isn't a good place for storage either since solvents might corrode the balloons. Also avoid contact with dust or sand! The already prepared but not used balloon sculptures should be put down on a clean surface.
Following the above mentioned points unused balloons can last for an almost unlimited period of time.

If you aren't allergic to Latex then it might be due to the powder that is on the balloons. Therefore, after building a model (or in between if it takes longer) wash your hands and particularly under your fingernails thoroughly. If you put some hand lotion on afterwards, let the lotion soak in and then wash your hand again before you go on sculpturing. Otherwise the hand lotion will 'attack' the balloons and they will blast easier.

Yes. The balloons automatically adjust every angle in a way that an atom according to modern atom models does, too. When three balloons meet at one knot (at the atomic nucleus so to speak), they act just like a sp²-hybrid atom which means they form a planary system. When four balloons meet, they form a tetrahedral. You only have to keep in mind to build some free electron pairs as well. If you do this for example for water, there will be a smaller angle than for a tetrahedral, since there are six balloons that meet in one knot (two compounds for the hydrogen atom and two each for one free electron pair).

That depends on the size of the sculptures. The bigger the sculptures, the more balloons you need of course. For small sculptures you usually don't need more than five to seven balloons. One bag with 100 balloons costs about 10 Euro. If you bear in mind to use a different colour for every functional group of a molecule and always use the same colour for these groups, it can happen that some colours are left at the end that seem to be unsuitable (e.g. baby blue or pink). If you take this into consideration, one sculpture will cost round about 1 Euro. For bigger sculptures it might be more sufficient to buy single-coloured balloons instead of bags of various-coloured balloons. Those are more difficult to find though.