Make a Paper Kite That Really Flies!

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I recently took my kids to one of the Balloon Museum’s Stories in the Sky. And the theme that day was wind. If you haven’t done storytime at the museum with your kids, it’s an awesome free weekly activity! On this particular day, we listened to a couple of fun stories and poems, sang songs, and watched experiments surrounding the topic of wind. Then we were given materials to make our own paper kites. After we had our kites put together, we headed outside to try them out.

Make a Paper Kite That Really Flies! from Albuquerque Moms Blog

I was really impressed with how well they flew! We had a blast and spent the next hour and a half out on the field, running back and forth with our new toys. So I found some instructions so that you can make your own paper kite at home!

Simple Paper Kite

Simple Craft Paper Kite Albuquerque Moms Blog

Instructions adapted from Origami Resource Center

  1. Take a single sheet of lightweight paper (construction paper is great!) and fold it in half so that shorter ends are together.
  2. Fold the top layers towards the right and left so that the crease marks are at an angle. Exact dimensions are not important, try to leave one inch at the top and two inches at the bottom. This will give you your basic kite shape.
  3. Place a long strip of tape down the middle of the kite, connecting the two front flaps.
  4. Place a stabilizer across the top of the kite and tape it down corner to corner. You can use a small wooden skewer with the pointed ends cut off, a straw, or even an un-bent pipe cleaner.
  5. Turn the kite over and punch a hole in the middle flap, right at the front of the kite. Tie a long string (yarn, twine, etc.) through the hole.
  6. Turn the kite over and attach streamers to the back end. You can use lightweight ribbon, paper streamers, etc. A tail that is 5 to 6 feet long flies very well; however, for young children, you might want to trim it to 2 to 3 feet in length.
  7. Get outside on a breezy day and take your kite for its maiden voyage!

Make the best of Albuquerque’s yucky springtime wind. Grab your kiddos and a few simple supplies, and you’ll have your own paper kite in no time. Enjoy!

Originally published March 2019.



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