Make a diamond work of art and watch it soar in the sky. Building and flying kites is fun for kids of all ages.
Download Kite for Kids project PDF.
These kites are constructed with 6mm timber dowels, called spares, with short lengths of plastic tube for flexible joints. The sails are made of Tyvek, a light, moisture-resistant, tough and inexpensive material. It’s easily decorated with paint or felt-tipped pens and doesn’t tear easily. Find Tyvek at hobby shops and speciality kite suppliers such as Kite Magic (www.kitesite.com.au), along with kite flying lines on plastic handles. The tails are made of lengths of nylon ribbon.
Cut out the shape On paper, mark out a diamond shape with a ruler and pen, making it 780 x 620mm and adding a slight curve from the wing tips to the base for extra surface area. Cut out the template, tape it to the Tyvek and cut the sail. Make a small hole where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect for the kite flying line.
Decorate and add frame Draw or paint one side of the sail for the face side. Lay the sail face down, position the spars and lay short lengths of strapping tape across the face of the kite then fold them back over to cover the ends of the spars to secure the ends to the sail.
TIP: Use paper, plastic or nylon for the sail and tails..
Attach the line and tail Feed the line through the centre hole, pulling it around the spars and feeding it back to lash the spars, tying off with an overhand knot. Tie four tails to the base of the long spar.