Make and Fly a Kite

This article offers templates for the design of kites as well as content background on the drag and lift forces that act on a kite. The force analysis involves vectors but even young childr... See More

This article offers templates for the design of kites as well as content background on the drag and lift forces that act on a kite. The force analysis involves vectors but even young children could do scale diagrams and learn to resolve forces on a flying kite to form a foundation for deeper knowledge. The article is valuable as a tool for a teacher wanting to design a STEM project based on flying kites. Teacher notes and materials lists are extensive and this is a project that could be done relatively inexpensively. If video and a video analysis program are available, students could extend their questioning and gather and analyze data for deeper understanding. This article offers an open-ended approach for many levels of science