Kites Around The World
2009
People all over the world fly kites. Many people fly them during festivals and for cultural traditions. Some fly kites as a sport - competing, or fighting, against other kite fliers. Kites are also used in extreme sports like kite surfing.
Many people, however, fly kites just for enjoyment. There is something magical about launching a kite and watching it dance in the sky.
Kite Links
About Kites
How to say “Kite” in different countries
“My Blue Kite” - great website from our friends in Turkey
Making Kites
Simple directions for a Diamond Kite
ActivityTV - video instructions to make kites
Kites In Education
Welcome
About This Site
This website explores some of the ways that people around the world, especially children, enjoy kites.
It is also a way for students across the globe to connect and share their similarities and differences. Schools from around the world are working together to share stories, traditions, photos, or ideas about kites and kite flying. Each school has their own blog entry for you explore under the “Partner School Projects” link in the top menu.
A Little Kite History
Kites are often thought of as toys, but before they were flown for fun, they had been used as important tools for thousands of years. Many people believe that the first kites were built in China about 3,000 years ago, using materials such as bamboo and silk, but people in the South Pacific islands were probably using kites for fishing around the same time. Here are some of the different ways kites have been used over the centuries:
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•To send messages and signals.
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•To measure distances and build bridges.
• For scientific experiments about weather, flight, and
electricity.
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•Kites have been used for fishing for thousands of years.
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•For military purposes like spying with a camera and for target practice.
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•Kites were the first way that people flew, and they led directly to the invention of airplanes.
For more information on kite history, and kites in general, check out the links on the left.
Images on this website were either provided by the schools directly involved, or were obtained courtesy of Flickr.com creative commons.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or corrections please email me at jmsalsich@hotmail.com.