Kites
In this activity, students will learn about some kite history and how kites fly before making and flying a kite themselves.
Forces on a kite
Flying a kite depends on the relative size of the forces (lift, drag, weight, force of the wind and tension in the bridle line) acting on the kite.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
use some kite terminology when discussing kites
demonstrate a basic understanding of how kites fly
make a kite
fly a kite.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
student worksheets.
Related content
Find out more about the Principles of flight. There is a lot to know about wings and flight! These articles provide more information: Wings and lift, Wing loading and Wing aspect ratio.
Activity ideas
These hands-on activities are an ideal way to investigate flight principles:
Useful links
Check out this wikiHow site if you’ve decided to make a diamond-shaped kite and this site for information about box kites.
Here’s some history about the kites used in World War II for target practice.
