The Physics Department and the Center for Environmental, Economic, Earth, and Space Studies at Bemidji State University have operated the high altitude ballooning program since 2011. These flights have included projects and experiments designed by BSU and local K-12 students as part of the Minnesota State K-12 Science Standards. However, due to budget constraints it is not easy to collect reliable atmospheric data that can be readily analyzed by K - 12 students. However, with the rise of relatively inexpensive and and easy to use equipment it is now possible to collect a wide variety of atmospheric data up to 100,000 ft or more. A Labquest 2 Data Collection and Analysis system from Vernier Software and Technology was used to collect data using six different Vernier sensors every 6 seconds for the entire 2 hour flight of the balloon from takeoff to landing in a lake on March 30, 2016. The data was later analyzed to produce graphs of temperature, pressure, UVA, UVA, and cosmic radiation vs altitude from ground level to 85,000 ft. Students from Bemidji Middle School participated in all aspects of the project including packing the data equipment, the balloon launch and recovery, and analysis of the collected data
