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IHABIXARY PLAIES BF IXYEXTIBX:
IREATE YBIR BWX IXBBBR-RITE

One of t he biggest challenges every invent or must face is how t o t urn t heir idea int o a successf ul
invent ion. Throughout t he process of cr eat ing a new invent ion, an invent or must imagine new and
unexpect ed uses f or t he available mat erials and t ools. One such t ool, t he kit e, plays an import ant
role in many famous invent ions.

BEXJAHIX FRAXRLIX RITES IX HETEBRBLBBY AXB ELEITRIIITY
I n June of 1752 Benj amin Franklin began t o st udy t he at mospher e wit h kit es, including t he famous
and wildly dangerous kit e experiment t hat proved t hat light ning is elect rical. This experiment also
cont ribut ed t o Franklins invent ion of t he light ning rod. Kit es cont inued t o be used in met eorological
research for t he next 150 years.

ALEXAXBER BRAHAH BELL AXB THE WRIBHT BRBTHERS RITES IX AIRIRAFT BESIBX
Embol dened by his i nvent i on of t he t el ephone i n 1876, Alexander
Graham Bell j oined t he race t o prove t hat human flight was
possible. To do t his, Bell invent ed and pat ent ed t et rahedral -
shaped kit es t hat were very light and very st rong. Bell added
small engines t o his t et r ahedral kit es, pr oducing some of t he
earliest manned airplanes. Unfort unat ely, his t et rahedral airplane
designs were overshadowed by t he Wright Brot hers successful
biplane design. The Wright Brot hers also conduct ed many
experiment s wit h kit es prior t o t he first manned flight in 1903.
Kit es and Kit e- fl yi ng have also i nspi red ot her flight invent i ons
such as t he par a- glider, hang glider, and sport parachut es.

BIBLIELHB HARIBXI RITES IX RABIB AXB WIRELESS IBHHIXIIATIBX
I t alian invent or Guglielmo Marconi t ransmit t ed t he first radio signal across t he At lant ic Ocean, fr om
England t o New Foundland, using a large kit e t o li ft t he receiver ant enna 400 f eet int o t he air. This
innovat ive experiment led t o t he development of radio broadcast ing and modern wireless
communicat ions syst ems.
The 1901 Wright Glider Flown as a Kite
Image Courtesy of Institute of Mathematical and
Physical Sciences, East Tennessee State University
Spark!Lab Indoor Kite
Photos by Steve Madewell
Kite Modeling by Tanya Garner
http://sparklab.si.edu
IREATE YBIR BWX IXBBBR-RITE
ESSEXTIAL HATERIALS
- paper
- 5- 6 feet of st ring or yarn
- st raw or craft st ick
- t ape
- A par ent or adult t o assist you
RITE-BIILBIXB BASIIS
1
Fol d your paper i n hal f, as shown.
2
Fold down one side of your paper at an angle
t o make t he wings.
3
Tape t he wings t oget her along t he fold, as shown.
4
Tape a st r aw or craft st ick acr oss t he wings.
Make t he t ail by t aping a st rip of newspaper
or ribbon t o t he bot t om of your kit e.
5
Turn t he kit e over. Fold t he flap back and fort h
unt il t he flap st ands st r aight up.
6
Punch a hole in t he flap.
Use t his hole t o t ie one end of t he st ring t o your kit e.
7
Now, t ake your prot ot ype kit e f or a t est flight .
Fly your kit e in a room wit h plent y of open space.

Think about it!

How well does your kite fly?

Can you make it better?

How?
BPTIBXAL HATERIALS:
- feat hers
- newspaper
- color ed marker s or crayons
- ribbon
- ot her light weight mat erials
fr om t he r ecycling bin
REEP TRAIR BF YBIR RITE-FLYIXB
ABYEXTIRES IX A IXYEXTBRS XBTEBBBR
Download yours at
ht t p: / / sparklab.si.edu/ downloads/ sparklab-
invent ors- nt bk.pdf.
http://sparklab.si.edu
TB LEARX HBRE ABBIT RITES AXB IXYEXTIBX, IHEIR BIT THE FBLLBWIXB:
ht t p: / / smit hsonianlibraries.si.edu/ smit hsonianlibraries/ 2010/ 03/ when- i- t hink- of- alexander-
graham- bell- i- t hink- of- kit es. ht ml
ht t p: / / www. loc. gov/ t eacher s/ classr oommat erials/ present at ionsandact ivit ies/ present at ions/ fant asy-
flight / kit es.ht ml
ht t p: / / best - breezes.squarespace.com/ science- of- kit e- flight /
ht t p: / / www. lessonplanspage. com/ ScienceLet sGoFlyAKit eForcesK2. ht m
ht t p: / / www. edut opia. or g/ blog/ t eaching- science- element ary- grades- kit es