Museum Director John Rhoades will lead a "Train-the-Trainer" workshop from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday in the Technology Lab at the museum, said Pat Berger of the museum, part of the Community Involvement and Outreach Office. At this workshop, volunteers will learn how to make kites and assist children at later kite-making workshops, she explained.
The workshop includes information on kite making and kite physics, said Berger. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required.
A number of kite-making workshops sponsored by the Los Alamos Arts Council are scheduled in Los Alamos and neighboring communities from April 25 through May 14.
Those workshops are as follows:
- Wild Oats Market, St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, noon to 3 p.m., April 25
- YMCA Family Annex, Los Alamos, 10 a.m., May 2
- Santa Fe Children's Museum, Old Pecos Trail, 1 p.m., May 2
- Pojoaque Boys and Girls Club, 1 p.m., May 2
- Los Alamos Senior Center (between Mesa Public Library and Oppenheimer Place senior condominiums), 9 a.m., May 4
- Chamisa Elementary School, White Rock, 7 p.m., May 4
- Los Alamos Arts Council, Fuller Lodge, 12:30 p.m., May 6
- Los Alamos Girl Scouts, Fuller Lodge, 6:30 p.m., May 7
- Los Alamos Parks and Recreation Department (Walkup Aquatic Center), 12:30 p.m., May 9
- Española Arts Council/Northern New Mexico Community College Continuing Education Department, Española, 1 p.m., May 9
- Piñon Elementary School, White Rock, 7 p.m., May 11
- Pojoaque High School, near NM 502 and U.S. 84-285, 1 p.m., May 14.
Adults who want to volunteer for the kite-making workshops should call Marcia Zalbowitz of Los Alamos' Education Outreach Office at 665-9336, or Linda Ash at 662-5171, and indicate which workshop they plan to attend. They also should plan to attend Thursday's Train-the-Trainer workshop at the museum. Pre-registration for the workshops is encouraged, but drop-ins are welcome, Berger said.
The original kite template children will use in the kite-making workshops was designed by Tom Beery of the Laboratory's Experiment and Diagnostic Design Group. Beery's template pattern was prepared for the kite-making workshops by Robert Naranjo of the museum. Beery also has designed a rokkaku kite for artists. Both kites are made from Tyvek®, a nonwoven material.
In addition to the workshops, the Arts Council is sponsoring a talk by Randy Shannon of Flagstaff, Ariz., at 5:30 p.m. May 15 in the Pajarito Room in Fuller Lodge downtown. Shannon, a noted kite artist, will talk about kites and give demonstrations. He also will receive the first Ben Franklin Achievement Award signifying accomplishments as a kite artist, said Zalbowitz.
An exhibit, "Flights of Fancy," also opens in the Los Alamos Art Center at Fuller Lodge from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 15.
And the day of the Kite Festival, the museum is co-sponsoring a Kite Hospital at Overlook Park, Berger said. Festival participants will be able to take damaged kites there for repairs, she said.
For more information, call Berger at 665-0896, Zalbowitz at 665-9336 or write to marciaz@lanl.gov by electronic mail.
The Los Alamos County YMCA, the County Parks and Recreation Department, local school parent-teacher organizations, Pojoaque High School, Pojoaque Boys and Girls Club, Jemez Springs Schools, Española Arts Council, Los Alamos Senior Center, Los Alamos Schools and the Santa Fe Children Museum all are participating in the kite festival.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.