Main Street Magazine: Flying Cloud Turns 40

This Month’s Featured Article

By Mary B. O’Neill

This year, Flying Cloud Institute, based in Great Barrington, MA, turns 40. For decades, Flying Cloud has been inspiring young people and educators through dynamic science and art experiences that ignite creativity. Main Street Magazine sat down with executive director Maria Rundle to find out more about the organization’s history and programs. 

What is Flying Cloud, and how did you find your way to becoming the executive director of the organization?

My background in in education and labor rights. My children were going to a local public school, and it had an amazing half-day robotics program. I knew that one of my children had a special drive and curiosity for science that wasn’t necessarily being met during the school day.  

So we sent her to Flying Cloud Camp, and she came back saying, “This was the best day of my life,” having done chemistry, ceramics, and engineering design. And this was as a six-year-old!  

What impressed me most was how committed Flying Cloud was to treating young people, even six-year-olds, as interesting, creative, curious scientists and artists and working alongside them to answer their questions, solve problems, and make art – and that is a very appealing approach. 

Flying Cloud plays a very important role right now in holding space in our school system for creative learning and in igniting a passion for science and art. But I also see Flying Cloud as a model for how we need to shift public education away from the high-stakes, standardized testing model.