Kite Science and 8 Festivals in the US

In attempt to find a new theme for each birthday, we held a birthday party at a kite festival (West Chester, OH Voice of America park).  The party included a kite shaped cake and a kite for each kid to fly.  On this day, we felt grateful for wind.  There's a science lesson in kite flying, the need for wind pressure or force to keep the kit in the air.  It's called lift and it counteracts the force of gravity.  Kids understand gravity or the force that pulls things towards the earth well.  Have them jump up and down.  Kites garner more physics terms:  thrust, drag, angle of attack, and tension.

You may also tie history into a kite flying demonstration.  Kites have served as so much more than just toys.  During the Han Dynasty, a Chinese general flew a kite above a town to calculate the distance his army would have to tunnel to reach under the city walls.  Scientists and inventors experimented with kites.  Benjamin Franklin experimented with kites and electrical energy.  Alexander Wilson compared air temperature.  The Wright Brothers flew kites to test their wing-warping control system.

Kites play a key role in certain sports; power kites pull fliers on surf and land boards.

If you have small children, check out a book about kites such as Curious George Flies a Kite, Let's Fly a Kite, Kite Day A Bear and Mole Story, and Kite Flying.



Kite creation can bring out the artist in your child.  Years later we attended a kite making class at a naval base and the kids had just as much fun creating as flying.

Kick off your child's interest in kites by attending a kite festival.  Here's 8 other kite festivals in the US:

1.  Frank Mots International Kite Festival, Veterans Park, Milwaukee, WI, launches nearly 600 kites plus demonstrations from professionals
2.  Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (National Mall, Washington DC), visit the exhibit indoors and go outdoors to fly kites
3.  Ziller Park Kite Festival (Austin, TX), over 85 years old festival, one of the oldest in the US
4.  Outer Banks Stunt Kite Competition, Wright Brothers National Museum (fitting location!) Kill Devil Hills, NC
5.  Bug Lite Kite Festival, Bug Light State Park, South Portland, Maine
6.  Soar into Spring Kite Festival, Floxglenn Park, Flagstaff, AZ
7.  Sunfest Kite Festival (Ocean City, MD) festival on the beach, location considered "The Kiteflying Capital of the World" with it's wide beach and regular winds, host site of The AKA (American fliers Association) convention
8.  Marblehead Festival of the Arts Kite Day, Deveroux Beach, Marblehead, MA

History Lesson #5: Maritime History in Outer Banks North Carolina

 Roanoke Island Festival Park and Elizabeth II offers historical lessons about both Native Americans and the Roanoke Voyage of 1585.  This 25 acre interactive historic site represents the first English settlement attempt in 1585.  The museum had several interactive exhibits capturing the kids imagination including 16th-century and pirate costumes and ship ropes to pull. 

Taking a wooded path, you will discover the American Indian Town educating tourists about the homes and agriculture of the Algonquian culture.  Two longhouses represent the historical homes of American Indians, including one measuring 30 feet long.  Outside stands a ceremonial dance circle. 

The kids most enjoyed the 16th century representative ship of Elizabeth II located in Shallowag Bay.  It represents one of the seven English merchant vessels from the Roanoke Voyage.  Enthusiastic interpretive staff encouraged the kids to turn the capstan to raise the ship's anchor.  The kids examined the lines and riggings while the adults simply appreciated the views from the quarterdeck. 

The square-rigged sailing ship replica has a relatively short history; constructed in Manteo (across the waterfront), it was dedicated in 1984 and even Her Royal Highness Princess Anne attended.  The admission cost ($10 adult, $7 children age 3-17) was well worth the cost.  Tip:  check the website ahead for a $1 coupon.

 If you want to find other maritime museums in the United States, check out the Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM) website with an extensive list including:

1.  Hawaii Maritime Museum (Honolulu, Hawaii)
2.  Maine Maritime Museum (Bath, Maine)
3.  Portland Harbor Museum (Portland, Maine)
4.  Fells Point Maritime Museum (Baltimore, MD)
5.  American Merchant Marine Museum (Kings Point, NY)
6. Toms River Seaport Society Maritime Museum (Toms River, NJ)
7.  Michigan Maritime Museum (South Haven, MI)

Agriculture Lesson #4: North Carolina Zoo Bee Exhibit & 7 National Pollinator Events

  Bees serve us in so many ways, most importantly as a pollinators of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  The world has other pollinators, but bees perform about eighty percent of all pollination worldwide.  Bees also produce honey from the sugary secretions of the plants, aka floral nectar.

When I toured the Google headquarters and ate lunch on a picnic bench, I noticed they had their own beehives for fresh honey - impressive!  In exploring the Fairmont Edmonton, Canada patio grounds, I delighted in the inclusion of beehives.  You don't need a special invite to a corporate headquarters or luxury hotel in Canada to show your kids beehives.

The United States is a major honey producer, ranked third after China and Turkey.  If you search events, you can likely connect your child to a local beekeeper who manages hives of domesticated bees.  Also, I like to look for bee products at farmers markets such as honeycombs or flavored wax honey sticks.  The kids love to taste sweet honey.

My family took time to explore bee hives and educational materials at the North Carolina Zoo located 75 miles west of Raleigh, NC in Asheboro, North Carolina.  Entry costs approximately $15 for adults and $11 for children.  We also watched a live hive at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.  Admission is a suggested $7 for adults and $4 for children.  If you can't visit an exhibit or museum, go the to the KU Natural History Museum website for a link to the live bee cam.  Kansas designated the honeybee as the official state insect.

Unfortunately pesticides, air pollution, habitat destruction, and drought contribute to bees dying.  According to Greenpeace, worldwide bee colony collapse occurs as winter losses exceed the norm - especially in the United States.  Europe has placed more restrictions on pesticides.  You and your family can celebrate and support bees by joining events during National Pollinator Week in June.  Visit the website pollinator.org for updated events.  Here's 7 examples of past events across the country:  

1.  Bees & Brew at the Botanical Conservatory; Fort Wayne, IN

Suit up for a beekeeping experience with live beehives, sample raw honey, make DIY beeswax candles at the Foellinger-Freeman Botanical Conservatory

2.  Bee Bee Q; Detroit, MI

Fundraiser with silent and live auction, live music

3.  Wild! Heritage Pollinator Party: Huntington, WV

Make your own pollinator plant pot out of recycled materials at the Heritage Farm Museum and Village, see a colony of bees

Couldn't resist the costume.  He's so sweet, he's my Honey!

4.  BeeFest; Salt Lake City, UT

Enter your kids in the kids pollinator costume contest.  Event entrance free and you can support by buying plants or honey-baked items.

5.  Meadowbrook BeeBlitz; Urbana, IL

Train on how to photograph bees and upload photos to Bee Spotter, meet at the Garden Pavilion 

6.  Bugs & Brews; Denton, NE

Take an evening walk through the prairie and enjoy refreshments and presentation by biologist working with farmers and conservation groups

7.  Meet Our Beekeper; The Episcopal Church of the Advocate; Chapel Hill, NC

Watch Piedmont Patch beekeeper demonstrate the equipment at the hive besides pond where volunteers planted over 1,000 native grasses and wildflowers

She's my Honey too!

Lighthouse Lesson #3: Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse in Manteo, North Carolina

Before you begin your lighthouse tour, check out The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society website.  Besides hosting America's largest keepers' descendants' gathering, the society teaches children about lighthouse history.  Before getting in your car, print off their free 19 page coloring book.  If ambitious, tell your kids about the Lighthouse Explorer Patch Program.  If your child completes 7 out of 10 activities, noting 3 are required, he or she can earn a OBLHS embroidered patch.  

While in the Outer Banks, you should visit the relatively new Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse.  Built in 2004, the lighthouse stands as a replica to the 1877 lighthouse also known at the third Roanoke lighthouse.  Due to the lighthouse protecting river traffic versus ocean traffic, the light doesn't need to stand as tall.  Even at 37 feet tall, you will easily see the lighthouse.  It jets out 40 yards into the Roanoke Sound with white exterior, black shutters, and a red shingle roof.  

Several lighthouses have served to protect boats entering and leaving the Shallowbag Bay:

- First Roanoke lighthouse (1831) experienced floods and repairs that led to abandonment

- Second Roanoke lighthouse (1858) suffered wood rot

- Third Roanoke lighthouse (1877) sold to a private owner in 1955 who placed it on a barge; the lighthouse fell off the barge and sunk into the Albemarle Sound

Fortunately, the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum manages today's lighthouse and light still shines 19 miles offshore.  In the spring, summer, and early fall, you can visit the interior which also includes a fourth-order Fresnel lens and local Manteo exhibits.  Just walk down the wooden boardwalk and visit.

Lighthouse Lesson #2: Bodie Island Lighthouse

Bodie Island Light Station stands proud at 170 feet tall and noticeable with it's black and white stripes. It's iconic look likely helped it make the Frommers travel guide article list "7 All-American Lighthouses".

Did you know it's not the first Bodie Island lighthouse?  Marine safety is worth the continued effort for a structure to watch over the "Graveyard of the Atlantic."  A poor foundation caused the first Bodie Island lighthouse to be abandoned.  Confederate troops who feared the lighthouse would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War destroyed the second lighthouse.  The third lighthouse was built in 1872 and became part of the National Park Service in 1937.  The third time's the charm!

1937 was also the creation of the first national seashore.  Bodie Island Light Station is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first national seashore.  If you visit, consider timing your visit between the third Friday in April to Columbus Day in October.  That's when the park service allows visitors to climb the 214 steps to the top 70-foot structure.

Today the Keepers Quarters brick house also serve as one of the three Cape Hatteras visitor centers.  You can expect a small exhibit area and a bookstore.

Bodie remains as one of only a dozen remaining tall brick tower lighthouses in the United States.  It's also special because it still has it's original Fresnel lens.

Stay on the trails as signs warn of snakes.  Take the boardwalk leading from the lighthouse to an observation platform near marshes for another view.

If you love the National Park Service like me, take your kids to the other National Seashores too.  Not only will you learn about history, but also shoreline conservation.  Here's the other nine national seashores:
1) Assateague Island National Seashore (MD)
2) Canaveral (FL)
3) Cape Cod  (MA)
4) Cape Lookout (NC)
5) Cumberland Island (GA)
6) Fire Island (NY)
7) Gulf Islands (MS)
8) Padre Island (TX)
9) Point Reyes (CA)

Lighthouse Lesson #1: Cape Hatteras and 6 Lighthouse Events

Perhaps it's because I grew up near the Great Lakes that I find maritime history fascinating and lighthouses as majestic, protecting our coasts with the values of safety and stories of heroism.  Celebrate lighthouses and their keepers.  August 7th is National Lighthouse Day. 

We saw many lighthouses at the Outer Banks and the iconic Cape Hatteras in Buxton, NC stood as the most memorable.  By climbing the lighthouse, we also heard stories about the lighthouse.  Our guide pointed out where this lighthouse stood prior to 1999.  Due to erosion, the lighthouse moved to higher ground.  Known as "The Move of the Millennium", the lighthouse became the tallest masonry structure ever moved.  Perhaps it was memorable because as we looked out over the beautiful sunny & blue sky view, we also knew a hurricane watch was coming and we could imagine the danger on water years ago; overlooking "The Graveyard of the Atlantic.

Kids can expand their vocabulary:
Pharologist - one who studies or is interested in lighthouse
Wickie - a name given to lighthouse keepers, derived from the task of trimming the wick of the lamps
Prism- a tansparent piece of glass that refracts or disperses light
Beacon - a lighted or unlighted fixed aid to navigation
Lantern - a glass enclosure at the top of the lighthouse tower which housed the lighthouse lens
See the United States Lighthouse Society site for more terms.

Light up their imagination.  There's more than one day a year to teach kids about maritime history, whether touring a museum or climbing a lighthouse.  Here's six special events:

1.  Maryland Lighthouse Challenge - Sept.
You must see all mandatory stops (10 lighthouses) to proclaim "I've seen the lights" and collect a specialty designed souvenir.  Scouts have an opportunity to earn "Keeping the Lights Shining" patch.

2.  Maine Open Lighthouses Day - Sept.
Sponsored by the United States Coast Guard; climb and learn about over two dozen historic Main lights including Bass Harbor Head, Burnt Coat Harbor, and Owls Head.  Plan ahead.  The event attracts 15,000 to 18,000 visitors per year.  Stop into the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland where you'll see the largest collection of Fresnel lenses display in the US

3.  Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival - Sept. - Washington
Free, 50 year festival, fireworks, art show, children's parade, fly-over, salmon bake, fishing derby

4.  Lighthouse Challenge of NJ - Oct.
Visit up to 11 lighthouses; $2 registration fee includes a special passport book
Climbing ranges from donation to $8 (Cape May)

5.  Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival - Oct. - Alpena, MI
20 year festival; Free four day event close to Mackinaw City
Lighthouse tours, entertainment and over 100 maritime related vendors
Alpena also has the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center - free admission and you'll see shipwreck exhibits and a full size replica wooden Great Lakes schooner

6.  Lakeside Marblehead Lighthouse Festival - Oct. - Ohio
Lakeside Chautauqua and Marblehead Peninsula, crafts, pumpkin decorating contest, hayrides ($2), lighthouse tours ($2), and sailboat rides
Marblehead, 2nd oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, had the first female lighthouse keeper in the US

Architecure Lesson #1: Loveland Castle in Ohio and 5 US Castle Tours

Loveland Castle, photo by Krenda

You don't need to travel to Europe to teach your kids about European architecture.  Take a castle tour in the US. 

We took our kids to the Loveland Castle (Chateau Laroche), located in Ohio.  It began as a project with his boy scout troop called Knights of the Golden Trail.  The visionary was Harry Delos Andrews (1890 to 1981) who became inspired after serving in WWI and afterwards touring castles.  See the website for the full story http://www.lovelandcastle.com/.  Just by touring this castle, you can show your kids three styles of architecture - German, French, and English.  Ask your tour guide about the four types of towers.  Sturdy and impressive, beautiful blooming garden; it all began with some donated land due to newspaper subscription and a dreamer.

Here's 5 other castle tours:
1.  Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC; largest private home in US, representing the Gilded Age; if you need a rental in driving range, consider our luxury cabin rentals Lightning Bug Lodge (www.lightningbuglodge.blogspot.com) or Indigo Moon Lodge (www.indigomoonlodge.blogspot.com)

2.  Oheka Castle, Long Island, NY, 2nd largest private home in the US, built in 1920s, French-style chateau; $25 adult, tour includes coffee, non-alcoholic beverage, and cookie

3.  Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA, includes an ancient Roman temple and listed in Frommers 100 Places to Take Your Kids, part of CA State Parks, $25 adult, $12 kids

4.  Grey Towers Castle (Dupont Castle), Milford, PA, inspired by Alnwick Castle in England; $8 adult, $5 kids

5.  Lambert Castle, Paterson, NJ, Catholina Lambert built, inspired by his boyhood in England; tours Wed. to Sun. 12 to 4PM, check with Passaic County Historical Society for updates

State Park #2: Hocking Hills State Park, Logan Ohio - geology lessons

Get out of the house and go explore and you will see majestic cliffs, waterfalls, gorges, and more. Especially if you drive to Hocking Hills State Park. I've been to a lot of State Parks, but none like this one in Ohio.  While hiking, you have time to discuss geological processes.  Gorges are mainly formed because of the flow of water or lava.  Smaller than canyons, gorges still have deep, narrow valleys with a river or stream running.  Even easier than creating your own science lesson, check out the park schedule for educational talks hosted by naturalists. 

Besides admiring the rocks, go on a hunt for waterfalls.  This photo shows Cedar Falls, the largest in terms of water volume.  From the photo, it's difficult to tell size.  It spans 50 feet with water cascading between limestone and ending in a pool.  I'd also recommend the waterfall at Ash Cave.  You'll be impressed with the size of the 700-foot long cave.

Gorges make beautiful scenery for a hike with your family.  Two of the top three parks winning the USA Today 10 Best Readers' Choice Award Best State Park rating have well known gorges:

1) Letchworth State Park (Castile, New York) rated #1:  includes Genesee River Gorge, sometimes referred as "Grand Canyon of the East"
2) Watkins Glen State Park (New York) rated #3:  includes Gorges of Finger Lakes, 200 foot cliffs, 19 waterfalls, part of the Finger Lake State Parks

Readers rated Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan as the #2 state park.

Here's 9 Other gorges you could visit with your family:
1.  Quechee Gorge, Vermont: (Quechee State Park):  deepest gorge in Vermont, view from US Route 4 bridge
2.  Bluestone River Gorge, West Virginia: canyon land around the Bluestone National Scenic River and protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (est. 1988)
3.  Rio Grande Gorge, New Mexico: approx. 50 mile gorge beginning near the Colorado border, part of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (designated 2013)
4.  Avalance Gorge, Avalanche Cree, Montana:  narrow chasms near the falls within Glacier National Park
5.  Linville Gorge, North Carolina: part of the Pisgah National Forest and sourced by Linville River, also claims "Grand Canyon of the East"
6.  Bad River Gorge, Wisconsin (Copper Falls State Park): walls can tower up to 100 feet above the river bed, watch for flash floods
7.  Cathedral Gorge, Nevada near Panaca, Nevada: (Cathedral Gorge State Park) established 1935, early construction included picnicking facilities built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
8.  Malad Gorge, Idaho; (Malad Gorge State Park):  narrow steel walk way across the gorge
9.  Columbia Gorge, Oregon Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area: managed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and the US Forest Service, 80 mile canyon up to 4,000 feet deep and spans Oregon and Washington