About Balloonspider
Balloonspider is a free tracking system for things you set loose and can't steer. Register for a flight code, write it on your balloon along with balloonspider.com, and let it go. Whoever finds it logs where and when they picked it up — and you get to see exactly how far it travelled, drawn on a map.
It works just as well for a message in a bottle. Same idea: label it, launch it, and wait for someone, somewhere, to tell you where it washed up.
Why "Balloonspider"?
Three reasons, and they all fit together.
A spider catches things in its web. This site catches balloons in the web — the World Wide one.
And some spiders really do fly. It's called ballooning: the spider climbs to a high point, lifts its abdomen, and spins out fine threads of silk until the breeze and the air's own electric field lift it off the ground. It has no control over where it goes. Some travel hundreds of kilometres this way, and Darwin recorded them landing on the deck of the Beagle far out at sea.
Which is exactly what your balloon does — drift wherever the air takes it, and land somewhere nobody chose.
See it in action
A balloon launch, start to finish.
How it works
1. Register and get your code
Every launch gets a unique flight code — your six-digit member number plus a few
characters you choose, like 000001 alex5. That code is what links whatever
you find on the ground back to the person who launched it.
2. Label it and let it go
Write the code and balloonspider.com on the balloon, or on the note in your bottle. You can also print ready-made cards with your code and a QR code that takes finders straight here — handy if your handwriting is going to spend a week in the weather.
Make the card as waterproof as you can: laser print it or seal it in clear tape, and use pencil or permanent marker. A washed-out code is the most common reason a balloon gets found but never reported.
Use 100% natural latex balloons — never foil or mylar — and natural string rather than plastic ribbon. One balloon, not a bunch. Mark your launch point on the map when you register the launch.
3. Wait
This is the slow part. Some balloons are found the same day. Some are never found at all. That's the nature of it.
4. Someone finds it
The finder enters the code here, marks where they picked it up, and adds the date. You get an email, and the flight log shows both points on a map with the distance and the time in between.
The numbers so far
| Balloons launched | 35 |
|---|---|
| Found and reported | 3 |
| Longest journey | 281 km |
| Tracking since | 2007 |
32 are still out there somewhere.
Found something?
If you've picked up a balloon or a bottle with a code on it, thank you — you're the half of this that can't be automated. Enter the code here and tell us where you found it. No account needed for that. If you'd also like to add a photo of where it landed, that takes a free account — the launcher would love to see it.
Questions, or something not working? Get in touch.