Explore the Mathematical Art of Origami
Origami is known as the art of paper folding. It is very much present in the Japanese culture; however, it is now well-known across the globe. Origami is a scientific technique as much as it is artistic. It greatly makes use of mathematical symmetry and geometry to transform a 2D flat paper into a 3D paper structure.
Let’s explore together and fold some paper into brilliant Christmas characters. All you need is some origami paper which you can find at the local crafts shop and some other simple tools you can find at home. If you do not manage to get some origami paper, you can use any other kind of paper as long as it is not thick and that it is cut into a perfect square shape. The size of the paper doesn’t make a difference, the bigger the square, the bigger the object will be.
| Try out the Origami Pine Tree
Difficulty level: easy All you need:
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Check out our video:
Step 1
Fold the paper in half (coloured side up) making each corners touch and open again. Repeat in the other direction.
Step 2
Turn the paper over to the white side and do the same but this time folding towards the edges not the corners.
Step 3
Now bring the top three corners of the paper down to the bottom corner. Let the creases you created earlier help you. Once done, flatten the new fold.
Step 4
Fold the right edge of the paper towards the centre and unfold. Then, open and flatten the flap by using the crease you have just made.
Step 5
Repeat step 4 on the remaining flaps.
Step 6
Make sure there are equal flaps underneath, and that the top flap is showing the coloured side of the paper.
Step 7
Fold the paper along the crease shown here and unfold.
Step 8
Fold each coloured flap inwards.
Step 9
Adjust the pine tree so that it is even all the way around and position it in a way that stands on itself.
| Try out the Origami Santa Claus Difficulty level: medium All you need:
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Check out our video:
Step 1
Place the paper on the table with the red side facing upwards. Fold it in half from left to right and re-open and fold again in half from top to bottom. You have made a plus-shaped crease.
Step 2
Flip the paper over to have the white side facing upwards. Fold the bottom edge until it meets the central horizontal crease and unfold. Repeat with the left edge and fold it to meet the vertical crease, then unfold.
Step 3
Fold the bottom right corner up to the top left corner and unfold then flip the paper again to have the red side facing upwards.
Step 4
Rotate the paper to have the diagonal line vertically centred. Fold the bottom corner up to the centre and unfold. Fold the bottom corner up to the crease you just made. Unfold. Fold the bottom corner up again to the smaller crease that you’ve just made. Do this one more time until you have a tiny white triangle showing.
Step 5
Now fold the bottom section up and this time do not unfold. Keep folding on until you have folded the whole corner triangle.
Step 6
Flip the paper over (white side up) and rotate the paper so that the folded part is at the top. Now this is a tricky part… bring the top-left and top-right sections inwards and collapse the top section down and fold well. Then, fold the bottom corner up to the top corner.
Step 7
Fold the top corner down, leaving a small gap between Santa’s hat and beard. Fold another small section down to form his moustache. Then flip the paper over to fold the bottom right corner and the bottom left corner up to the top corner.
Step 8
Fold all the layers on both the left and right edges to the centre. You can fold the bottom corner just a bit to create a flat bottom. Tape the folds on the back together so they stay closed.
Step 9
Decorate your Origami Santa using markers by drawing some facial features, buttons, and belt etc. Glue the pompom to the tip of his hat. Then you can add your Origami Santa to your Christmas decorations.
| Try out the Origami Christmas Star
Difficulty level: slightly difficult All you need:
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Check out our video:
Step 1
Take one sheet of paper and place it coloured side up. Fold it in half, open again and repeat in the other direction.
Step 2
Flip the paper over (white side up) and do two more folds but this time diagonally towards the corners and unfold each time.
Step 3
Now bring the three marked points down to the centre of the bottom edge as indicated in the photo and flatten it out.
Step 4
Repeat steps 1 to 3 to make five more modules. You should have six in total.
Step 5
Join the modules together by slipping one set of edges into another set of edges of the other module like in the photo. Insert them in all the way in.
Step 6
Pull the centre creases outwards like in the diagram to turn the origami creation into a 3D shape.
Step 7
Continue to add the modules to build the star by repeating steps 6 to 8 as you go along.
Step 8
Add the complete star to your other Christmas decorations. Perhaps place it on top of a Christmas tree 😉
Take it further!
You can take this opportunity to test out different kinds of paper such as newspaper sheets, baking paper, printer paper or perhaps wrapping paper to be more festive.
Let us know which worked best for you 😊
Explore more!
Nowadays origami is not just an art that is known for its harmonious transformations of paper from flat to three-dimensional. Its artistic beauty and mathematical perfection have inspired plenty of technologic improvements in various aspects such as the creation of a foldable bulletproof shield, planetary explorers, and even tiny ingestible robots.
Click here to explore more on great inventions inspired by origami.
Show us what you’ve made! Take a photo of at least 4 of your favourite activities from Esplora’s Science Advent Calendar. Trust us, you’ll need them 😉
Share your creation/experiment/project with us on social media by tagging us on social media @esploramalta #esploramalta #getcuriousgetinspired
