ONE MAN'S BRAINCHILD: AREA NEUROSURGEON CREATES BALLOON TO EDUCATE PEOPLE

Cape Girardeau neurosurgeon Dr. Scott Gibbs says his brain-shaped hot-air balloon is more than just a novelty. It's a way to get people to think about brains.

"The purpose of the balloon is to capture people's attention," he said. "I want to have the attention of the world, because if you have a person's attention, you can teach them. I want to create a higher understanding of and appreciation for the human brain."

The $250,000 balloon was flown for the first time two weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio, and was on display over the Fourth of July at a Mensa conference in Texas.

The balloon will be in Cape Girardeau during the SEMO District Fair in September, sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Hospital Brain and Spine Center. Gibbs said it takes 15-20 people to be the crew for the balloon. In order to fly, the 1,100-pound balloon is taken out of the bag, each of the 25 vents is closed and then the balloon is inflated with high-speed air fans. The air is heated with propane burners to lift the balloon.

A chase crew follows the balloon during its flight, and assists the pilot in landing and then deflating the balloon. Gibbs said they usually get children involved in the deflating by having them lie on the balloon and roll around to get the air pockets out.

Aerostar in South Dakota took nine months to actually build the balloon. "It's a brilliant example of art and engineering," Gibbs said. "It's a masterpiece and a mirror of the beauty of human creativity."

The money for the balloon came from BrainLAB, a German-based company specializing in surgical navigational technologies and radiosurgical technologies. Gibbs went to them with the idea, and they agreed to develop and sponsor the project in order to help further his educational mission.

Single greatest asset'

Gibbs also wants children to be involved with the balloon by having it be a tool used to educate them about the human brain.

"I really want them to recognize early on that the brain makes us who we are, and is simultaneously our past, present and future," he said. "Without a doubt, it is their single greatest asset."

Gibbs said the human brain is an organ of discovery, learning and self-sufficiency. "When children learn to appreciate their brain and its value to them, they will hopefully develop a passion for learning and self-development," he said.

Gibbs said he wants to use the balloon for fund-raising purposes as well. He said he wants to work with individuals and companies who support education in general, but particularly groups in the areas of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, brain tumors, epilepsy and traumatic brain injuries.

"With this symbol, they can draw more attention to raise funds for more research in these areas," Gibbs said.

Gibbs had the idea for the balloon during his residency at the University of Missouri in 1996, when a balloon contest was in Columbia. He saw the Wehrenberg balloon, with all its detailed kernels of popcorn, and marveled that a balloon could be made in such three-dimensional detail. He began to imagine the possibility of sulci and gyri -- the bumps and grooves of a human brain -- in a balloon.

"I guess I'd seen too many brains that year," he said.