Exhibit Celebrates Kites, Their Place in World History

In 1846, while engineers puzzled over how to string up the world's first major suspension bridge over Niagara Falls, a boy with a kite allayed their worries.

The then-15-year-old Homan Walsh flew his kite to the Canadian side of the falls, pulling a rope that then pulled the first cable in what was later a mighty feat of engineering.

This was one of several historical anecdotes on display at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery at the San Ramon Community Center as part of an Art & Wind Festival exhibit titled "About Kites," which is on display through the end of the month and through the end of the city's annual Art and Wind Festival on May 30 and 31.

The collection of bright drawings and corresponding tales from the colorful history of kites across the globe is sponsored by the Drachen Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to sharing knowledge about all things related to the ancient aircraft.

A survey of the kite's journey through history takes the viewer from stories of ancient kite-makers in Japan, China and India to their utility in war, engineering and the beginnings of aeronautics in modern times.

One learns of the three main kite types (flat, bowed and box) and the simple science behind their flight (wind pressure from under the kite, gravity pulling down on it and resistance as it travels forward).

And quotes throughout the gallery wax poetic about the kite as an extension of human curiosity and creativity, like one published in Kite Lines Magazine circa 1980: "Kites make the world seem smaller and the sky seem bigger."

It's a sparse, but educational gallery, enjoyed mostly by folks passing through the community center on their way to classes, forums and other events held under its roof, employees said.

"It's an aesthetically pleasing way to learn about kite history," remarked San Ramon resident Grace Fancher, who brought her 7-year-old granddaughter through the exhibit on her way to a craft class at the community center Friday. "And it certainly catches the child's eye."

At a glance
Gallery hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday through May 31 at the San Ramon Community Center, 12501 Alcosta Blvd. For information about the exhibit and the upcoming Art and Wind Festival, go to www.sanramon.ca.gov.