The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an American tradition. It’s been going since 1924. This year marks the 99th parade (it took three years off during World War II). It’s famous for elaborate floats and huge character balloons that bob above the streets as the parade marches forward. Millions of people watch the parade live in New York City each year, but many many more watch it on TV. And some of you have questions! How do they make such big balloons for the parade and how do they choose which characters to feature? And how do they hold onto the balloons with such tiny strings? And, more generally, how do balloons float? What’s helium got to do with it? But Why visits the Macy’s Studio workshop in New Jersey to see how the magic happens!
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- Each parade takes 18-24 months of planning and crafting to complete.
- The New York City government says about 3.5 million people watch the parade in person. And about 50 million people watch the parade on TV.
- The floats and balloons are built by a large group of carpenters, sculptors, metal workers, engineers and artists.
- Sculptors carve elements out of styrofoam. They are then covered with a waterproof coating and finally get a layer of paint.
- Floats are constructed on flatbed trailers. The displays are too tall to make it through the Lincoln Tunnel, the route they have to take to get from the studio in New Jersey where they’re made to New York City, where the parade is. So each float has to fold down for transport and then be reconstructed at the parade location.
- The famous character balloons in the parade can be as much as 100 feet tall and/or equally as long, so they are really really big!! And each balloon weighs up to a couple hundred pounds.
- The balloons are made from a specially designed material created just for Macy’s. They are drawn by computer and many 3D models are made in the process. Then the material is cut and sealed together. Finally, the balloons are painted.
- Before the parade, each balloon is filled with helium, a gas that is lighter than air. That’s how balloons float.
- To make sure these giant balloons don’t float away, about 90 people on the ground hold onto strings that are attached to the balloons. These volunteers are friends and family members of Macy’s employees, and everyone has to be a certain height and weight to make sure they can handle the balloon. They use a lot of hand signals and commands to move the balloons.
