Pick one make.
What do you want to make?
Open one lab. Follow the picture. Check the test before We made this.
0 of 39 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.
Hold · 6–8 · 45–50 min
Brick Beam Challenge
Crew of 2 or 3. Cover a span — short or long. The shop stick sits on your structure. The picture circle hangs. It must stay flat and not touch the second shelf. Then it has to hold one brick.
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.
Draw · 6–8 · 25–40 min
Development drawing
Thick line = cut. Dashed line = fold. Tabs = glue. Letters match.