Ku ambil buluh sebatang, ku potong sama panjang..
Ku raut dan ku timbang dengan benang, ku jadikan layang-layang..

The two lines above are a short quote from an Indonesian kids song about making and playing with kites. While tablets, computers and Playstation’s have caught the attention of a lot of children, playing with kites is still a popular past time for Indonesian kids living in the countryside. Twenty years ago when I was a child there were none of these distractions, so I spent many happy days playing with kites.

Even though I’m now an adult and have yet to master playing with them I still love kites. So when I accidentally found out about  Musium Layang Layang Indonesia, or Jakarta’s Kite Museum, I knew I had to go (and I’m glad I made the effort).

Jakarta Kite Museum

The Museum is homey, cozy, colourful and an enjoyable place to visit. I read in a brochure that the founder is Mrs. Endang W. Puspoyo. She has a passion for kites and had been collecting them for a while. She decided to open the museum on March 21, 2003. It has been more than 10 years now, but I’m sure that most people who live in Jakarta don’t know about this place.

The Jakarta Kite Museum was founded with the goal of being the centre for kite education in Indonesia. The museum help run kite festivals, exhibitions and kite decorating events around Jakarta. For a privately owned museum, the collection is quite impressive. The collection ranges from the miniature piece measuring just 2 centimeters to the ‘Megaray’ kite, which is 9 x 26 meters.

An assistant will bring you to a small theatre when you enter the Jakarta Kite Museum. At the theatre they show a movie on the history of kites in Indonesia and the different kite festivals that are held around the country. After watching the movie you can tour the museum.

There are plenty of fun workshops you can do in the museum. There are workshops on kite making, kite painting, making ceramics, umbrella painting, painting batik on ceramics, decorating t-shirts and much more. These kinds of workshops are great for small kids.

Final Thoughts

Visiting the Jakarta Kite Museum is a fun thing to do for a day. For less than $2, you can enjoy all the collection and have a far more interesting day than you would have at the mall. The kites are beautiful and the staff are amazingly friendly. In short, this place is definitely a must if you visit Jakarta. You can find the address and opening times below.

Museum opening times: Monday – Sunday at 09:00 to 17:00 (except national holidays)
Address: Jl.H. Kamang No. 38
Pondok Labu, Jakarta 12450
Tel: 6221-765 8075 or 6221-7590 4863

Curious about the mini and mega kites? You should visit the place and see it by yourself. It was so much fun. The Kite Museum is in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta. Word of warning, it might take quite a long time to find the museum. It is not near a main road and the signs are small.

Have you ever visited the Jakarta Kite Museum? Did you join one of the workshops. Share your feedback with other travellers in the comments below.