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Make a Kite and Study Wind Conditions around the School
Make a big sled kite and find a good place to fly it, or make a small kite that is suitable for studying the wind around buildings and trees.
Cut out the kite in the way the drawing shows you. You can make several kites at a time by cutting through several layers of paper. Small kites made out of tissue paper can be coloured and decorated with crayons.
 Put tape – preferably 4-6 layers – over the two corners in the sides and cut out the two holes with the paper puncher.
Tape the two sticks (or straws) to the kite.
Tie a piece of kite string of 180-200 cm between the two holes in the big kite. (For the small kite the string should be 66-90 cm).
Find the middle of the string and make a loop (with a knot) exactly halfway between the two holes. Tie the kite string to the loop.
Wind conditions vary a lot. Bring the kite around to different parts of the school and find places where the wind is very turbulent and places where the wind is steady.
Before you fly the kite, watch out for electrical wires and other things the kite might get caught on. If you have any doubts, do not fly the kite.
Drawing showing how to cut out the kite
Drawing showing how to make the kite
Source: Aeronautics - An Educator's Guide with Activities in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, NASA, 1998
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| Toolbox
Big kite:
A big black garbage bag
Two flower sticks, diameter: 4-5 mm, length: 70-80 cm
Kite string and reel
Adhesive tape, preferably strong packing tape
Paper puncher
Scissors
Metric ruler
Small kite
Tissue paper or plastic from a bag, 17 x 22 cm
Two drinking straws, cut to a length of 17 cm
Strong thread – e.g. made of polyester
Adhesive tape
Paper puncher
Scissors
Metric ruler
Perhaps crayons for decorating the paper
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Parasev films at NASA. (Requires QuickTime 4). Choose the film that has the smallest file size!
