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Kelvin Chun is an award winning teacher, magician, balloon artist and kite enthusiast. Kelvin has over 40 years of kite making and flying experience and has competed in local, national and international competitions.
He is the only kite maker in Hawaii who has accomplished so many awards and is recognized internationally for his lecturing abilities. Kelvin has over 25 years experience as an educator teaching students from grades kindergarten - adult. He has the experience to communicate effectively with people of all ages and also be a life-long learner. Kelvin has taught the art of kite making and flying to his students.
Here is a video integrating mathematics, art, history and science. Kelvin has been on television sharing the art of asian kites.
For over 20 years, he has done numerous hands on kite making and flying workshops for students and teachers for the Hawaii Department of Education including paper kites and plastic kites.
His presentations were done throughout the community including the Pasco event at the Academy of Arts, the Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics conferences, the HSTA - Hawaii State Teachers Association Institute Day, and the public library system.
His most recent workshop (May, 2008) was held in Los Angeles at the JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM. "Up, Up and Away!" is highlighted by three workshops including:
Workshop session 1: History of Kites / Kites Around the World / Asian-American Kites
Workshop session 2: Paper / Plastic kites - Students create kites of their choice after basic concepts are introduced
Workshop/Demonstration: Flying of Asian - American Kite and Kites the students created
In 1995, Kelvin's final innovative instructional design multimedia project for the M.Ed program for the University of Hawaii's Department of Educational Technology was titled "Multimedia Instruction in Kite Aerodynamics: "Why Does A Kite Fly?"
This project included pressing a cd-rom when that technology was relatively new.
To pursue his life-long learning in kites, Kelvin have travelled to many parts of China including the kite capital of the world: Weifang and also the international kite museum in Tokyo, Japan.
Here is a video of the asian kite.
The Hawaiian/Asian kites are a mix between Chinese, Filipino, and American ideas. These kites must survive the gusty Hawaiian trade winds of up to 35 mph. The materials such as bamboo, kite line and plastic must be strong. From 1960 - 1990, there were many Hawaiian kite making enthusiasts. These numbers have dwindled due to a new generation of different interests.
Kites date back 3000 years, when the Chinese made them from bamboo and silk. Over the centuries kites have been used in religious ceremonies, scientific experiments, military maneuvers and, of course, for fun.
The kites in the Phillipines have designs similar to the Chinese kites. These are special tailless kites that are perfectly balanced. At times, they could glide almost perpendicular to the ground.
The Filipino kite is known as "saranggola." (Spelling variation: sarangola)
Gurion - is the name of a classic Filipino kite design, characterized by an oval shaped main body, a pointed nose and fish-like tail, it can also be designed as a tail-less variant. (Spelling variation: guryon)
In 1989, I have received a grant through the Hawaii State Cultural Arts Foundation to learn as an apprentice under the master kite maker Patricio Gongob. The Folk Arts Program was created in 1983 with funds and planning support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Folk Arts Program seeks to: identify and document the diverse ethnic, cultural and occupational folk traditions in Hawai'i; assist in the perpetuation of folk traditions in Hawai'i; and promote public awareness of the beauty and value of folk arts in Hawai'i and the importance of preserving Hawai'i 's folk arts heritage. Over 80 hours of hands-on learning time was generously provided by Mr. Gongob.
Mr. Gongob has been a kite expert throughout his life time, learning the art in the Phillipines. He passed away at age 83 in 1991. He entered numerous kite competitions in Hawaii and the US in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1971, his gigantic kites were on the cover of the Kite Tales magazine. To store these kites, they were either hung on the side of a two-story house, or hung from the ceiling of their garage. The kites were launched with rope using about 13 men and brought to Kapiolani Park using a flat-bed truck.
That year, Patricio Gongob and relatives won numerous awards among other outstanding asian kites. He even won a trip to the mainland to a national kite festival. In the 1970s, the Kite Festivals sponsored by the City & County of Honolulu were very competitive with many expert kite makers. To judge the high flying competition, a helicopter was launched to view the altitude.
There are no big kite festivals in Hawaii as in the past. The tradition is becoming lost because the younger generation has different interests. Patricio Gongob is holding the number 15.
Here is the article from the magazine.
A picture of his award winning (Most Beautiful) kite appeared in the 1977 summer issue (p. 43) of Kite Line. Mr. Gongob told me the stories of the Chinese introducing these kite designs to the Phillipines, and how modifications to the design have perfected its flight. Mr. Gongob was featured in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for his award winning kites. Here is the bird kite that we designed:
If you analyze its shape, it also resembles the Maylasian kites known as the Wau Bulan. The word Bulan means moon shape. The lower 1/2 of the kites are shaped like a crescent moon. The wings are elliptical in design and the bamboo frame is shaved to perfection. The wings are able to resist the stress of the wind by bending like joints in the human body. In some of my designs, I have also introduced modern materials like fiberglass to replace the bamboo, and mylar and nylon to replace rice paper. There are a lot of mathematical concepts involved in designing this kite. The wings are elliptical and the tail has a parabolic shape.
See video of Patricio Gongob on kite making.
Start with splitting the bamboo and choosing the appropriate size:
The kite is attached to a strong Dacron line. In gusty winds, the Dacron line has at least a 100 lb. test.
Other popular Hawaiian kite makers included Lincoln Chang, Wayne Baldwin, Alfred Chang, Richard Ching and Warren Zane.
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KELVIN Y.S. CHUN, a teacher at Nuuanu Elementary, is a good-natured sort, as evidenced by the respect his students give him (he was recently named one of 39 teachers, out of 75,000, in the Walt Disney American Teacher Awards).
But he does have one gripe.
Invariably, his first name is spelled "Kevin" in stories and on awards. So let's get that out of the way: Kelvin Y.S. Chun.
The reason we're talking to Chun today is his facility with Asian kites. His colorful manta-shaped kites are often displayed in public libraries as if they're works of art rather than elaborately crafted toys. They aren't "kite"-shaped. They aren't triangular and they feature tails. As we head into pasko season -- the Filipino holiday celebration -- you might want to build one yourself as decoration.
"As a child, I was always struck by the balance and symmetry of Asian kites," said Chun, who will display his work Sunday during the annual "Pasko!" event, themed "Our Children, Our Future," at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
"I was fortunate that there was a neighborhood man, Patricio Gongob, who took me in as an apprentice. He was a master kitesman."
Like most kids, Chun bought store kites and flew them as high as they could possibly go. That was the thrill. "And if the string broke, ooooooh, buckaloose!" said Chun.
He noticed, however, that Gongob's elliptical kites flew almost straight overhead, indicating great lifting power, and were stable. The secret was in the broad tail, comprising about half the lifting surface, coupled with airfoil-shaped tips that flexed in the breeze, like the tip primaries of a bird's wing. Asian kites were also rigged with a line across the back that ensured balance.
"Mr. Gongob made his kites out of rice paper on strips of bamboo," said Chun. "I've modernized things a little bit. I still use bamboo -- often from fishing poles -- but I also use ripstop Nylon or Mylar." One of his smaller kites is actually made of clear Mylar with a Japanese mon design printed on it with a laser printer. Despite any kite's size, when the back rigging is loosened, the kite goes flat, and Chun says they're easy to store.
Gongob didn't only make delicate little kites. Chun remembers a monster the "size of a house that had to be driven to Kapiolani Park on the back of a flatbed. We had to use ropes to hold it in the air!"
Back then, the City and County provided funding for kiting contests. In the 1980s, stores such as Kite Fantasy and High Performance had a wide selection of kites. Chun has seen the popularity of kite flying diminish over the last decade.
Still, it's a centuries-old tradition. The Chinese invented kites, and when Chinese merchants moved to the Philippines they brought kiting with them. When Gongob emigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii, he brought the skill with him -- and Chun laughs heartily when he realizes that the Filipino man taught a boy of Chinese descent the art.
Full circle!
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