Bay Meadows

Pull those old newspapers from the recycling bin and make a homemade kite this season to fly at Half Moon Bay Beach! Withstanding the test of time as a source of fun for all ages, people have been making paper kites since the 5th Century BCE. San Mateo County has an enormous amount of beautiful open space and more nice beaches than most places along the California coast, and many are lightly visited with runners, beach combers, dog walkers, surfers — and of course kite fliers. View some of our favorite spots in San Mateo County to fly a kite here. 

The New York Times gives us instructions for upcycling a paper into a kite! Go Fly a (Newspaper) Kite! With your feet on the ground, you’re a bird in flight, with your fist holding tight to the string of your homemade kite. Easy to build, simple to fly, the diamond kite — two sticks crossed and bound together, covered by a diamond-shaped piece of paper — is the most recognized kite shape in the Western world. A woodcut image from the 1600s is the oldest known reference to the diamond kite. And all it requires is a couple of sticks, some newspaper and string.

Now, are you ready for an update? This 21st-century diamond kite is made entirely from newspaper, even the sticks.

 

What you’ll need:
Four double-page sheets of newspaper

Plenty of Scotch tape on a dispenser — preferably three-quarter-inch width but half an inch should be OK

Polyester sewing thread — polyester embroidery thread is nearly as good, with no chance of breakage

A pen or pencil

A three-foot ruler or any handy straight edge that’s long enough

Scissors

A bamboo or metal skewer, no more than three millimeters in diameter

Start by making the sail