Kite

📖 In short

A kite is a lovely toy we fly in the sky on a long string. It's made of paper, cloth or plastic stretched over a light frame of wood or reed. When the wind blows, it rises and dances in the air in its bright colors.

🤩 Did you know?

Franklin did his famous kite experiment in 1752.
Some kites need wind faster than 16 kilometers an hour.
Many countries hold festivals of giant kites.
Kites were once used to measure the weather and lift instruments into the sky.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 How does it fly?

When wind blows on the tilted kite, it pushes it up, and the string holds it so it doesn't fly away. The long tail helps it balance so it doesn't spin around.

🔍 China

Kites may have begun in China about three thousand years ago. They were made of silk and bamboo, then spread through Asia and the whole world.

💡 Franklin's experiment

The scientist Benjamin Franklin did a famous experiment, flying a kite in a storm to prove that lightning is electricity. But it's very dangerous, so never fly your kite in a storm!

🎯 Make your own kite

Tie two sticks in a cross, stretch paper or a plastic bag over them, add a tail of ribbons and tie on a long string. Then fly it in an open place away from power lines.