NOT often you see a man running up and down the cafe in the MAC Theatre flying his kite. It happened last week and it was all in the name of science.
George Ellis assured me that you can fly your kite without wind. Well, George: prove it. And he did. As he ran through the tables, sure enough, the lightweight kite lifted high behind him, secure in the thermals he created.
I was meeting George and Glenn Heasley who is the founder of Go Fly Your Kite, an organisation that brings education through the fun of kite design workshops to organisations and with schools, often pre-primary and primary, where these STEM (science, technology engineering and maths) workshops focus on the physics of kites, forces of nature, design and assembly.
Glenn refused to take credit for the original idea.
"Strictly speaking when my son Oliver was four, after flying kites on the beach at Ballywalter he said wouldn’t it be good if we could draw on kites and the idea grew from there. I thought about it for a few weeks, how you could theme the idea for events and organisations as a fun thing. Then it occurred to me that there would be interest in the mechanics of making and flying and that it could be a valuable teaching instrument for young children.”
His research led him to China where kites had their birth and were called Wind Harps. The Chinese had discovered how to weave silkworm thread into a lightweight material and with bamboo readily available they put the two together and so began the fascinating pastime; today apparently, there are 50 million kites sold in the United States every year and this is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
No wonder the supplier was excited and sent 15 different designs; each one was wind tested until Glenn and George found one that was reliable in all weathers, could cope with crashing into rocks or the sea and dried quickly. A blank stretch of polyester material, a fibreglass frame and a few coloured ribbons and, as Glenn explained, they were ready to go.
“Our next step was to go to government agencies, pointing out the value of such workshops to schools and organisations not as a play thing but as a learning tool. However, we got no positive response.”
No interest as they had entirely missed the point.
Despite this, the Co Down business has taken off; their kites fly all over Ireland and Britain, the kits are sold online all over the world, they had record numbers coming to their tent at the National Ploughing Championships in Offaly, starred at the Edinburgh Festival in August and were heavily involved with groups ahead of the Chinese New Year at the weekend. Plus, they are the only Northern Ireland company invited to the UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair at the NEC Birmingham in March.
Enquiries have come from a big multicultural school in London for a science-based event for 580 children and a hospital school in the city also want their workshops.
What exactly is Go Fly Your Kite all about? Certainly it’s fun but it’s a lot ore than that. Children, and adults too, are learning the science behind kites. For instance, did you know the fastest recorded speed of a kite is over 120 miles an hour and the longest flying time is 180 hours?
And how does a kite fly without the wind? How do you assemble the delicate framework? What is the history? Children learn to tie knots, they work together, share not only with the other young people but often with their parents who can’t resist the temptation of lifting one of the coloured pens and joining in.
I learned that wind is smooth until it hits an obstacle, that the aeroplane is a development of the kite and that aviation pioneer Samuel Cody succeeded in crossing the English Channel in a small canvas boat powered by a kite. In 1901 Marconi used a kite to transmit the first radio signals across the Atlantic and Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was electricity.
Nursery and primary schools, businesses, youth organisations from all backgrounds meet together to learn through play. At the workshop they get their basic white kite and, before constructing it to fly, using indelible coloured ink pens, they draw or trace a picture unique to them; their own creation which will reach the heights.
Workshops are very much cross-community and cross generations. “Four-year-olds to 94-year-olds, some young children come with an older brother or parents who are set to leave but end up at the table or on the floor designing and taking their finished kite outside to test drive it."
When they started, it was parties but this has developed as the science behind the project began to surface.
Glenn works for Stena Line at their Belfast terminal while George Ellis, co-ordinator and tutor, comes from an educational background. Their company takes them all over Ireland and Britain.
“Lots of memories,” says Glenn. “A 19-year-old boy in his wheelchair who is unable to participate in very much was able to draw on his kite and then we pushed him around a football pitch and his kite flew and he was thrilled. A young boy with autism used his pens to write his name for the first time – he was 10.
"After one workshop, we all went outside to fly our kits, no two the same, the pride and joy of those who created them. For one unforgettable moment I stood there in wonder when against the red sky all I could see were hundreds of kites and hear the laughter of delighted children – that was something special.”
:: For more information www.goflyyourkite.com
