Kite Flying Day

According to some calendars, today is Kite Flying Day. To celebrate, the Smithsonian Institute is having it's 42nd Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival on Saturday, March 29 at the Washington Monument. The event promises to be a lot of fun.

Many of us, myself especially, have a particular fondness for the scene near the end of Mary Poppins with the family spending time together to fly a kite. What fun!



According to Wikipedia, kites were invented and popularized in China over 2800 years ago. Most Americans recall [from school] the famous kite flying experiment by Benjamin Franklin and his son in 1752 which involved putting a metal key on the hemp cord of a kite during a lightening storm (no way would Mom let that happen now). We benefit from his dangerous experiment by having everywhere we go wired for electricity. If you are interested in making a kite like Benjamin Franklin and his son made (without the key, of course), watch the video below.



Let's Go Fly a Kite!