Rural Intelligence: Flying Cloud Celebrates 40 Years

By Hannah Van Sickle

Growing up, I drove past the Flying Cloud sign on Route 183 in New Marlborough, Massachusetts too many times to count. Handmade and freshly painted from time to time, it all but shouted an artist resided there; alas, my adolescent senses missed the cues. While my sister and I spent summer afternoons swimming at York Lake, we were blissfully unaware of what was happening just a scant mile down the road, where the mysterious driveway disappeared into a canopy of hardwoods. It was upon becoming a parent myself that the magic of Flying Cloud was revealed to me in earnest — as evidenced by the child-sized ceramic mugs in my kitchen cupboard that harken back to my now-grown daughters’ camper days.

Flying Cloud Institute (FCI) took root in 1984 when founder Jane Burke arrived in the Berkshires with a graduate degree in science education from Harvard and dreams of becoming a professional potter. The marriage of her two passions quite literally collided as the public educator experimented with making glazes on the 200-acre farm (and former inn) she and her husband, Larry, inherited from her father. What began with six “neighborhood” kids, who split three half days each week between Burke’s pottery and dance studios, has swelled over the past four decades to deliver hands-on art and science experiences to young people throughout Berkshire County. Fueled by a belief that today’s students are tomorrow’s innovators, the nonprofit (which relocated in 2017 upon Burke’s retirement) has expanded to offer year-’round programming. Under the leadership of Executive Director Maria Rundle, the mission remains to inspire young people and educators through dynamic science and art experiences that ignite creativity.