A museum just launched a teddy bear 37km into the sky to promote exploration

A teddy bear called “Nugget” was launched 37km into the air over Kalgoorlie on Monday all in the name of promoting exploration in Western Australia.

The move was part of a push by the Western Australian Museum to inspire people to explore regional areas as well as improve their knowledge of the historic goldfields.

Kalgoorlie is home to the massive “Super Pit” gold mine – which until 2016 held the title of Australia’s largest open pit mine.

Equipped with a camera and GPS, Nugget was set off aboard a high-altitude balloon.

However, strong winds and stormy weather pushed the balloon much further than estimated, according to staff from the Museum of the Goldfields.

Nugget and the balloon are believed to have drifted more than 160km from the launch site, and their landing area was located thanks to a tracking device carried aboard the balloon.

A recovery mission was undertaken yesterday with the help of volunteers from the Eastern Goldfields 4WD Club.

Here’s a video of the event:

The data and footage collected by Nugget will form the basis of future educational programs and resources at the Western Australian Museum.