Bing and Bong certainly learned a bit about just how powerful the wind is and how to have fun with kites. Now it’s your turn – let’s build a kite!

Materials

• 11 x 17″ sheet of paper
• String (lots of string)
• Stapler w/staples
• Drinking Straw
• Doughnut Stickers (here’s an example)
• Hole puncher (optional)

Instructions

• Take a 11×17” sheet of paper and fold it in half so it now becomes 8 ½ x 11”.  Curl one corner tip to the center fold, 2” from the end same end.
• Do the same with the other side, and secure with a staple.
• Two inches below the staple, punch a hole near the center fold and attach doughnut stickers (to keep string from tearing through the paper).
• Attach a good length of string and run!

Note: To make a string handle, cut a straw in half and thread one of the pieces (save the other for another) onto the end of the string, looping the free end back onto the main line.  Wind excess string around the straw.

Teaching Tip:  When we teach kids how to make this kite, we punch holes both on both sides of the staple and ask the kids which hole works best.

Why does this fly?  This kite soars because you’re holding the kite at the correct angle to the wind. The wind flows both over and under the kite, and with this shape, the air flying over the kite is traveling a bit faster than the wind under the kite.  Recall that higher speeds mean lower pressure.  The underside of the kite now has a relatively higher pressure, thus pushing the kite upwards into the sky.

Pretty cool, huh?

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