Pick one make.
What do you want to make?
Open one lab. Follow the picture. Check the test before We made this.
0 of 37 made on this Chromebook
5 periods · grades 2–6
Start the shop
Valley and mountain on scrap. Then a square, a hat, a cup, and a pinwheel.
Fold · 3–8 · 20–30 min
Folding techniques
Six moves. Tap one. Try it on scrap. Then the cube is not a trick.
Fold · 3–8 · 25–40 min
Origami balloon
Cut a square from the rectangle. Fold a puffy cube. Blow once. No glue.
Make · 2–6 · 25–35 min
Paper hat
Fold a hat. Put it on. Walk ten steps. If it stays, the fit passed. If it falls, change a fold.
Make · 3–7 · 20–30 min
Origami cup
Fold a cup. Pour a little water. Count to thirty. If it leaks, the crease was the leak. Fold again, sharper.
Move · 2–6 · 25–35 min
Pinwheel
Cut a square, cut toward the middle, fold every other point in, pin it on a pencil. Blow. It spins.
8 periods · grades 2–8
Make and package
A flat sheet becomes an envelope, a frame, a bag, a wallet, Berty, a box, or a cube. The development drawing waits until the end of the year.
Make · 3–7 · 25–35 min
Locking envelope
Fold a wrapper around a note. Tuck a flap. No glue if you can lock it. Does the note stay in when you shake?
Make · 2–6 · 25–35 min
Standing frame
Cut a window. Fold a stand. Put your drawing in. Hands off. Count to ten.
Make · 3–8 · 35–45 min
Carry bag
Fold a bag with a flat bottom and two handles. Carry a load across the room. If a handle tears, that is data.
Make · 3–8 · 25–35 min
Billfold
Fold a wallet. Slide three scrap cards in. Shake ten times. If they fly, fold a tighter pocket.
Make · 3–8 · 35–45 min
Bertybot
Print the sheet, or trace it. Cut the thick line. Fold the dashes. Glue the tabs inside. Then he stands.
Make · 4–8 · 30–40 min
Masu gift box
Cut a square. Fold a box. Put something small in it. No glue if the folds lock.
Make · 3–8 · 45–60 min
Net cube
Fold a cube from one sheet of paper. Cut, fold, glue. You can hold it.
Make · 4–8 · 20–40 min
More foldables
After the cube: triangle solid, pyramid, prism, tube, cone. Same sheet.
5 periods · grades 3–8
Flight tests
Same sheet, different airframes. A kite, a dart, a taped line, a count, and one documented change.
Fly · 3–8 · 35–45 min
Dart plane
Fold a dart. Fly it three times. Change one thing. Fly again.
Fly · 3–8 · 25–35 min
Seed copter
Cut a maple-seed flyer. Drop it. It spins down. Add a paperclip. Does it spin faster or fall faster?
Fly · 3–8 · 30–40 min
Paper parachute
Cut a square. Tie four strips to the corners. Hang a clip. Drop. Count. Cut a bigger or smaller canopy.
Fly · 3–8 · 35–45 min
Diamond kite
Fold a diamond. Tie a tail from the leftover strip. Walk it. It should lift and not spin.
Fly · 4–8 · 35–45 min
Paper glider
A glider has wide wings. It stays up longer than a dart. Fold, fly, compare.
5 periods · grades 3–8
Hold a load
A chain, a boat, a tower, then a bridge. The brick beam is last. Grades 2–4 skip it.
Hold · 2–6 · 25–35 min
Paper chain
Cut strips. Make loops. Link them. Hang a load. When it breaks, find the weak loop. Make that loop better.
Hold · 2–6 · 25–35 min
Paper boat
Fold a boat. Float it. Add clips one at a time. Count how many before it sinks.
Hold · 3–8 · 30–40 min
One-sheet tower
Build the tallest tower that stands by itself from one sheet. It must stand while we count to ten.
Hold · 4–8 · 40–50 min
Paper bridge
Span a gap between two books. Hold a glue stick. A folded beam is stronger than a flat sheet.
6 periods · grades 2–8
Mechanisms
A frog, a pop-up, a catapult, a whirligig, a ramp, and a grabber. Input, process, output.
Move · 3–7 · 30–40 min
Hopper frog
Fold a frog. Press the back. It hops. Measure the hop. Fold the spring sharper. Measure again.
Move · 3–8 · 30–40 min
Pop-up hinge
Open the card. A shape stands up. That is a hinge doing a job.
Move · 3–8 · 35–45 min
Paper catapult
Fold an arm. Tape it to a base. Press and let go. The eraser flies. Measure. Change the arm.
Move · 2–6 · 20–30 min
Whirligig
Two paper disks, a string through the middle. Twirl. Pull. It spins. Count to five.
Move · 3–8 · 30–40 min
Inclined plane
Fold a stiff ramp. High end on a book. Slide an eraser. Make a longer, gentler ramp. Which is easier to start? Which is faster?
Move · 4–8 · 30–40 min
Paper grabber
Fold two arms. Join them with a fastener. Squeeze. Pick up an eraser and walk it one meter.
10 periods · grades 2–8
Models and instruments
Weave, a flower, a lantern, a flake, a teller, a balance, a Möbius strip, and nets. The crane and the development drawing are last.
Make · 2–6 · 30–40 min
Strip weave
Cut strips. Go over, under, over, under. The mat is stronger than one strip. That is weaving.
Fold · 2–6 · 25–35 min
Standing flower
Fold, cut once, open — many petals. Roll the leftover into a stem. It has to stand.
Make · 3–8 · 25–35 min
Kirigami lantern
Cut many slits, roll into a tube, push the ends. A lantern grows. No flame — this is a model.
Make · 2–6 · 20–30 min
Kirigami flake
Fold small. Cut shapes. Open. The cuts repeat. That is how a factory copies a design.
Fold · 2–6 · 20–30 min
Fortune teller
Fold a chatterbox. Write facts on the inside. A friend picks. The paper is a machine for a question.
Draw · 3–8 · 30–40 min
Paper balance
Fold a beam. Balance it on a pencil. Put clips on both sides. When it sits level, the masses match.
Draw · 4–8 · 20–30 min
Möbius strip
Tape a loop with a twist. Draw a line. It comes back on “the other side.” Cut down the middle. Surprise — that is data.
Draw · 4–8 · 15–25 min
Net detective
Eleven cube nets work. The rest cheat. Find the cheats.
Fold · 4–8 · 35–45 min
Origami crane
Cut a square. Fold a crane. The leftover strip is a bookmark. The crane is a process with a history.