On eclipse day, hundreds of students will send up balloons for science

On eclipse day, hundreds of students will send up balloons for science Enlarge this image toggle caption Meredith Rizzo for NPR Meredith Rizzo for NPR CUMBERLAND, Md. Enlarge this image toggle caption Meredith Rizzo for NPR Meredith Rizzo for NPR Saimah Siddiqui is a senior and one of the "inflation leads" responsible for filling the balloons. Enlarge this image toggle caption Meredith Rizzo for NPR Meredith Rizzo for NPR "The great thing about the program is that it's really both an education program and a research program," says Angela Des Jardins, a physicist at Montana State University and the principal investigator of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project. Enlarge this image toggle caption Meredith Rizzo for NPR Meredith Rizzo for NPR "We're trying to give these students an opportunity outside the classroom," she says. Enlarge this image toggle caption Meredith Rizzo for NPR Meredith Rizzo for NPR "Duct tape is an engineer's best friend, for sure," Grammer jokes as he looks on.