Summer Kite Flying: Safe Family Fun

By Libby and Robert Strong and Richard Pollack

With warm breezes and beautiful blue skies, summer is the perfect time for building and flying kites as a great family fun activity. Not only is it good, healthy outdoor exercise, but it also gives us a chance to explore our environment and understand the nature of air, gravity, the wind, and the forces that make a kite fly.

The History of Kites:

No one knows for sure who first came up with the idea of flying a kite. We do know that kites have been flown for thousands of years. Chinese legend says a farmer who had tied a string to his hat to keep it from blowing away, accidentally “invented” the first kite. We don’t know if that’s true, but it makes a good story! Just for fun, you could imagine how you think the first kite was invented.

When Marco Polo came back from visiting China about 800 years ago, he brought the idea back with him to Europe. He also brought back noodles that later became spaghetti, but that’s another story. Europeans brought the idea of flying kites to America as they moved here. Probably the most familiar story about kites is the famous experiment by Benjamin Franklin, who flew his kite during a storm to prove that lightning was electricity. This absolutely falls into the “don’t try this at home” category.

Throughout the years, kites have been used for many purposes, including scientific research and military strategy. The very best purpose has always been to have fun!

Building your kite:

Building a kite from scratch or putting one together from an “easy to assemble” kit is an opportunity for parents and children to work as a team. Important skills such as measuring, cutting, gluing, or just following directions will get some practice. It’s also important to add your own individual artistic touches to the final design.

Many first timers will want to check local craft or dollar stores to purchase a kite for their initial flight.

For some good information on “everything kites”, go to this webpage…

http://smartcenter.org/ovpm/kites/

Flying Your Kite: Safety First!

Before you do anything else, The WLSC SMART-Center would like to remind everyone to follow the advice of folks at American Electric Power (AEP) who recommend that parents teach children important rules for safe kite flying. Always fly your kites in open fields, away from overhead power lines. If your kite becomes tangled in a power line or electrical equipment LET IT GO. NEVER TRY TO RETRIEVE THE KITE. DO NOT TOUCH THE TAIL, STRING OR ANY PART OF THE KITE. Ask an adult to contact AEP immediately.

Before you start to fly your kite, notice which way the wind is blowing. Which way are the clouds moving? Can you see the wind make trees bend or sway? Are you going to run with the wind, or will you run into the wind? Is the wind stronger close to the ground, or higher up?

To see families enjoying flying kites at Brooke Hills Park:

http://smartcenter.org/wvkitefestival/wvkitefestival-2006.html

It helps to have a partner hold the kite up while you unwind string and prepare to help your kite get off the ground by running and pulling the string behind you. Be sure to watch where you’re going as you run, and watch out for holes or other dangers. Does it work best to run as fast as you can, or slower?

What Can You Learn from Flying your Kite?

Sometimes the activities that are the most fun can be the best way to learn new things about the world and our selves.

At the SMART-Center, we understand that there is a lot of science and math to be learned from safe, fun, hands-on activities like flying kites. Focus on the fun as the most important part, and all the rest will follow naturally!

Libby and Robert Strong, and Richard Pollack work at the West Liberty State College SMART-Center. Libby is the director of the West Virginia Handle On Science Program that brings hands-on science kits into the classrooms of K-6 grade public schools in the five counties of West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. Robert is the Director of the WLSC SMART-Center, the hands-on science center of northern West Virginia. Richard serves as the Assistant Program Coordinator at the SMART-Center. Libby, Robert, and Richard invite you to visit the SMART-Center website at www.smartcenter.org