THE ART OF KITES

For Jennifer Daume and Mark Barylski, it was a successful experiment. The transformation of an old shower curtain and plastic mattress cover into a graceful, tethered aircraft was complete.

A translucent diamond, it defied the cold air and gray sky, buoyed by hope and held together with artful use of a glue gun.

The teens were flying a kite, engaging in an activity that can be traced back thousands of years and has become an American spring tradition.

According to legend, in ancient China, General Han Sin used a kite to conquer an enemy castle. The castle was too heavily defended to risk an open attack, so Han Sin decided to breach a wall with a tunnel. He calculated the length of the tunnel by flying a kite over the castle walls and using trigonometry to figure the distance.

Kites were unknown in Europe for centuries until Marco Polo brought them back from his travels to the East. Then Europeans, and later, Americans, used kites for all kinds of scientific and military purposes. Maneuverable kites were used as training targets for naval gunners during World War II.

Recently students in Nita Dubose's physics class at Central High School were able to pick up some extra credit points by creating their own kites from scratch.

Dubose was using the kite-making experiments to demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle, a lesson about velocity that applies most aircraft.

Working in pairs, students tried to balance durability, form and function.

Some, like Daume and Barylski, were more successful than others.

A box kite -- constructed by Rebecca Bieser and Andrew Christensen from tissue and drinking straws -- spiraled frantically behind Christensen as he ran across the lawn, but it just wouldn't go up.

Christensen didn't give up, guessing that the string must have been tied to the wrong side, impeding the wind tunnel. A few adjustments and he tore off again. This time, the kite lifted briefly, then dove down with a disheartening crunch.

Sara Little and Ross Redfearn's creation of muslin, sticks and duct tape wouldn't quite launch either. They decided their kite's tail was too heavy and took it indoors for further adjustment.

Elizabeth Russell and Amber Wissman had a promising start until the frame of their kite was snapped by a wickedly cold wind.

Rashida Wilson jogged for several yards, dragging her creation of flannel, plastic rods, tape and plastic, before giving up the ghost.

While Dubose's students worked on why kites will or won't get in the air, Marion Weiss's eighth-grade art class at Nell Holcomb is making kites in a lesson that focuses on the visual aspect of kite-crafting.

First, students create a design for the kite face, and use colored pencils, paint, markers to decorate them, then Weiss explains the function of the bowed back on the traditional diamond-shaped kites, the function of the tail and how to launch them.

Tuesday the class -- still in the design and construction phase -- worked busily in preparation for what has evolved into an annual contest: Cash prizes are awarded by the PTA for best flying, most original, most artistic, most beautiful and cutest kite.

With few exceptions, Weiss and Dubose's students stuck to the classic design of a diamond with a frame of crossed wood, but there are no limits to kite designs.

For modern kite crafters, making a kite is a challenge of creativity, craftsmanship and artistic talent.

New Zealander Peter Lynn flies a 100-yard-long inflatable Gecko.

Reza Ragheb of Aurora, Colo., decorates huge parafoil sails with Native American motifs. Peter Malinski, a German kite artist, built a stack of 270 Japanese-style "Yakko" kites. A team of Dutch kite aficionados created a record for the world's largest kite with an inflatable design of 5,952 square feet.

In fact, for the past 20 years, kites have enjoyed a renaissance as a recreational pastime. Kite stores and kite festivals have flourished. With about 5,000 members, the American Kitefliers Association is the largest association of kite flying enthusiasts in the world.

The Great St. Louis Kite Festival, now in its eighth year, includes demonstrations by professional kite flyers from across the country.

This year's festival, planned for May 6 in Forest Park, is a free event.

Some information for this article was provided by the Web site KiteLife.com and the Kite Trade Association, International.