Do you want to buy a globe but don’t know where to start? Balloons come in a multitude of sizes, colors, materials, and themes. Choosing one for yourself or as a gift can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.
The problem with shopping in the world is that there are so many options to choose from. Today’s balloon manufacturing technology allows for so many variations in color style and it can be overwhelming. Add to this the lighting options, materials, mounts, and sizes and it almost seems like you’ll never get the right one.
In this article, I’ll ask you to answer four questions that will guide you through some of the options and the right globe purchase decision.
What will you use the balloon for?
There are many uses for a globe, including education, decoration, and entertainment. Educational globes are an ideal way to teach anyone the principles of geography and cartography. Educational globes often focus on modeling political boundaries; however, there are several other types. You may want a globe that shows historical events, such as ocean crossings, discoveries, or important events from a particular time period.
Balloons are a great teaching tool, but they also look great. If you prefer to leave learning to Google Earth and the classroom, you can still enjoy the aesthetics of globes. Any balloon can be used as a decoration, but if appearance is your only concern, then your field of choice becomes quite large. Maybe you want to impress your friends with a dark wood framed floor globe or maybe you want to use a small desktop globe to distract visitors from the pile of papers you still need to clean up.
Some balloons are not only decorative but also functional and entertaining. The bar globe acts as wine and stemware storage, allowing you to entertain guests by pulling your favorite Merlot from deep in the earth. This type of balloon doesn’t spin, but it’s a great conversation starter. Other types of entertainment globes include light up globes, coin banks, and even electronic talking globes that allow you to play geography games.
Which theme suits your needs?
Globe themes include historical, modern, children’s, and novelty. Modern themed balloons can take many forms, but the most widely used is the blue ocean balloon or some minor variation thereof. The blue ocean globe obviously shows the oceans with a blue color. Countries are of many different colors. Capital cities, major cities, oceans, large rivers, and large lakes are often featured on these products.
Variations on the modern globe include different color themes, such as black oceans with gray continents, white oceans with earth-toned continents, or dark brown oceans with light-colored continents.
Historical themed balloons often have a parchment brown color associated with them. They are made to have a vintage look. The oceans will often be marked with historic sea routes, famous voyages, and important discoveries throughout history. Place names can be current or correct for a specific time period. Historical-themed globes are relevant to those interested in general history or someone who wants to decorate a room in a vintage or period style.
Balloons with a youth or children’s theme are a great way to introduce children to geography. These balloons will often have kid-friendly images of animals that inhabit various places on earth. Today, many children’s globes have informative recordings built into the stand and are often illuminated.
What size is right for your space?
If you have a large room, then a large globe is appropriate. Of course, with larger balloons comes a higher price. Some balloons can cost up to $10,000! However, most balloons are not that much. Balloon sizes range from 3 inches to 25 inches in diameter or more. A common size is 12 inches in diameter. You will have a great selection in this size.
A globe can be the centerpiece of a room, whether it’s a smaller one on a desk or table, or a large floor globe. The key is to match the balloon to the room you will be living in. As stated above, a larger room can accommodate a larger globe, but a large one would feel right at home in a smaller room, as long as it doesn’t completely overwhelm other furnishings. The size and color of the bracket are another important factor in determining which one is right for your room.
What style of support do you want?
Globes generally come with one of two types of stands: desktop and floor stands. Desktop models do exactly what they say, they sit at a desk. These are usually smaller balloons, but by their very nature they still take up a lot of space. Floor globes are usually larger, are often used as furniture as well as a geography tool, and can be very expensive.
Your decision on which style of support you want will depend to some extent on the size of balloon you want. You can get floor models as small as 12 inches in diameter, but they are usually 16 inches or larger. Compare this to desktop models that exceed 12 inches.
There are so many variations of the globe on the market that it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for you. But with a little thought about your needs and wants, and a little research on what’s available, you can find the perfect globe for you.
