Making a Kite: Supplies

Series Summary

Kites are tethered objects that are made to fly when the air lifts them like a sail. The kite’s movement can be manipulated by the kite flyer who is holding one or more strings that are attached to the kite. “Drag” and “lift” are words that depict the pressure and tension that the air places on the mechanics of the kite. A traditional diamond shaped kite has a tail to keep the nose of the kite from pointing into the wind and a string for the kite flyer to hold that controls the direction of the kite. Kites were historically used to communicate over long distances for military purposes. Today, they are used for recreation, art and competitive events.

In this free crafts video series, you will receive instructions on how to make your own kite. Find out what supplies you will need. Learn how to construct your support sticks. Get tips on cutting your shape and putting an image on it. Don’t forget a tail for your kite. You’ll learn how to put all of this together, along with support strings and the roll of string that will allow your kite to soar high in the air.

Video Transcript

"Today I'm going to show you how to make a kite. It's a real kite that will really get up there in the sky. The kite we will be making today is a little bit smaller than the normal size. The bigger you make your kite, using the same instructions we are going to show you today, the bigger you make it the higher it will fly. The sturdier it will be, but this size kite we are making today is great for a smaller aged child and it's very manageable and it does really fly. So let me show you the supplies we are going to need to make our kite. The first thing we're going to use is a piece of plastic. I'm using a piece of clear plastic that I'm going to decorate it will be cut in the shape of the kite. And we'll use some markers to decorate that, put a picture on. I also have a second piece of plastic that I'm going to cut a strip from. And that will be used as the tail of the kite. We are going to be using wooden skewers to stabilize the kite, help it lay flat. And what we need to help support the, to keep the squires in place is going be some dibbles. It's usually used to drill something into a wall regular dibbles, we are going to need four dibbles and they should be a size big enough to hold the stick the skewer in place. We will be using two wooden skewers, we'll need a ruler to measure some points on the skewers get some mid points so they sit properly and symmetrical. We'll also need a stapler and some glue to put the dibbles on to the plastic, piece of plastic. We are going to be using a lot of markers because since our kite is a clear plastic so were going to want to decorate it. Also a scissors to cut the plastic, and I have a book here that has an image that I'm going to trace and we're going to use that for the front of the kite. I'm also going to use a Popsicle stick that will be placed inside a roll of string. You can use regular thin kite string or either a fishing line, I have both. And we're going to need some string anyway to put around the sticks on the kite to keep them in place as a support which I'll show you later. And that?s our supplies for making a kite."