South Huntington Students Build, Code Mini Macy’s Parade Balloons

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Maplewood Intermediate School turned one of Thanksgiving’s most famous traditions into a hands-on STEAM lesson this week, as fifth graders designed and coded robotic “parade balloons” for the school’s third annual Balloons Over Maplewood celebration, held Monday.

Inspired by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the project challenges students to combine computer coding, engineering, art and teamwork to create a moving balloon float that travels through the school hallways as classmates cheer them on.

All South Huntington fifth graders learn to code as part of the district’s technology curriculum. Maplewood education technology teacher Janine D’Elia partnered with art teacher Ashlyn Gilhooly and librarian Kim DeRosa to bring the interdisciplinary project to life—an effort that Maplewood Principal Maria Colon said reflects the schoolwide theme of collaboration.

“Our theme for learning this year is based on the book Collaboration Station,” Colon said. “Students see our staff working together for their benefit. So when they’re asked to collaborate in the classroom, it brings the lesson full circle.”

From Books To Bots

Students began the project in early October by reading Balloons Over Broadway, the story behind the first Macy’s parade balloons. Working in teams of four, they designed their own balloon float, engineered its structure, and wrote the computer code that would guide it along a planned route.

“The STEAM aspect is the technology and engineering piece, because they’re engineering the balloon, and then the art piece through crafts,” D’Elia said. “Math is involved, too — in coding their algorithms, they had to understand angles, like turning 90 degrees, and measure in centimeters while counting tile squares to test their route.”

Each float is powered by Dash the Robot, a popular K-8 learning tool that helps introduce students to robotics and coding. Fifth graders walk alongside their creation, while third and fourth graders line the hallways to cheer — and often laugh — when a balloon takes an unexpected turn.

Building Skills For The Future

While the parade is light-hearted, D’Elia said the project helps build long-term skills.

“The majority of the students really got the whole team player, work-together, problem-solving, collaborative aspect of this project — all skills that we need in the workforce,” she said.

The Balloons Over Maplewood tradition began in 2023 and has quickly become a favorite pre-Thanksgiving event in South Huntington.