School Kite Day

"The best assembly that we have ever had!" - Deputy Head, Brisbane Primary School

Organise a School Kite Day with us. There are three main components to this:

Assembly

A whole-school assembly packed with fun, action and lots of audience participation. We start with kites being demonstrated indoors by the children, beginning with workshop kites, toy rainbow deltas and moving up to a Monster 15m Serpent delta. Look at pictures of inflatable kites, then see one or two of these humongous kites come out the bag and inflate to a huge size in the hall. Watch and discuss some of the wonders of kite flying including night flying with illumination, starring on TV (Blue Peter) and film (How to train your Dragon), kites used to power stunt buggies and expeditions across the Arctic or Sahara and the huge size of the contenders for the World's largest kite. Tug-of-war fun as we explore some of the forces involved and then ending with the unfurling of a huge kite banner customised for the school. We crack along at a great pace but the children (and presenter) tend to get so excited that it can be difficult to finish in less than 45 minutes.

Kite Workshops

An opportunity for a class of children to make and fly their own kite. We have kits ready cut and prepared to enable children to make their own kite. Everything is included - sail, spar, wiggly tail, sticky tape and string. Suitable for children from ages 5 to 12, with the younger children requiring more assistance than the older. The kit is well tested and proven by teachers - the kit works well with the reality of practical lessons with children - it is astonishing how badly the kit can be assembled and still result in a flying kite, which helps to boost confidence in the children. If the weather does not co-operate, the kites can be flown indoors in a gym.

Kite Display

If your school has a suitable location, (and suitable weather!), we would be happy put on a display of our giant kites.

Curriculum

Kite flying can be considered as part of the curriculum and school activities:

Science: Andrew is a leading expert in the science of kite flying. At a senior school level we can consider the forces on the kite (and how they increase with v²), the reason that the kite inflates (stagnation point, Bernoulli), why a kite inflates with a blower more slowly if you seal the nozzle (Bernoulli again), skin tension, the mass of air.
Environment and weather: What causes wind, wind gradients, the forces involved. We can explore how kite systems are being developed to generate electrical power and to provide motive force for boats and vehicles both for fun and to reduce fossil fuel consumption.
History: The first Documented use of kites is in China, but kites were used long before then, we can explore the reasons, the development and the migration of the technology from country to country. We can look at 20th Century history, where kites were the fore-runners of aircraft and used in war for reconnaissance and rescue
Culture: Many countries have a strong history of kite flying, including India, the Middle East, China and Japan. We can explore the reasons and meanings of kites in these cultures.
Art Design and technology: We can work with pupis to help them design their own kites - to understand the challenges involved and the solutions developed. We can also explore why kites don't scale - small kites don't work if you make them a lot bigger and big kites don't work if you make them a lot smaller.
Physical Education: kites are a great way to get people to expend a lot of energy, without them noticing - they are concentrating on the kite, not how hard they are working!
Celebrations: Kite days are a great idea for Anniversaries, Sports events, Memorials, End of term celebrations and holiday activities.

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