The University of Iowa College of Education is leading a new interdisciplinary global education initiative that will take more than 20 undergraduate and graduate students to Iceland in July 2026 to conduct high-altitude balloon research through test launches ahead of the total solar eclipse.
The initiative begins with a semester-long Spring 2026 course, The Iowa Idea at Great Heights, offered through the College of Education and co-led by College of Education Dean Dan Clay and Steve McGuire, faculty member in the School of Art and Art History in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Rooted in the University of Iowa’s century-old “Iowa Idea” of cross-disciplinary collaboration, the course brings together students and faculty from education, engineering, the sciences, and the arts, to collaboratively design, build, and launch a high-altitude research balloon capable of operating in near-space conditions.
More than a traditional study-abroad course, the Iceland Ballooning Project is designed as a real-world research and design experience that mirrors how knowledge is created across disciplines—through iteration, uncertainty, collaboration, and field-based problem-solving.
Donate
If you want to know more about how you can support this program financially, please reach out to Mae Parker, executive director of development, at 319-467-3514 or mae.parker@foriowa.org.
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Contact Us
Amira Nash
Associate Director of School Partnerships and Global Education Initiatives
amira-nash@uiowa.edu