Origami is the art of folding paper into amazing shapes. The word “origami” comes from two Japanese words: “ori” means folding and “kami” means paper. You do not need scissors or glue, just a piece of paper and your hands!
People have been making origami for hundreds of years. It started in Japan, where people folded paper into beautiful decorations for special celebrations. Today, kids and adults all over the world love making origami!
You can fold paper into so many different things! The most famous origami shape is the paper crane, a beautiful bird with wide wings. You can also make jumping frogs, flapping birds, boats, airplanes, flowers, and even dinosaurs.
Some origami models are simple and take just a few folds. Others are tricky and take many, many folds. Start with easy shapes and work your way up to harder ones!
To make origami, you start with a flat piece of paper, usually a square. Then you follow steps to fold the paper into a shape. Each fold has to be neat and straight for your model to turn out right.
The most important thing is to make your creases sharp and crisp. You can use your fingernail to press down on each fold. Take your time and do not rush!
Origami became very popular in Japan during the 1600s and 1700s. The oldest origami book in the world was written in Japan in 1797. It taught people how to fold paper cranes!
A man named Akira Yoshizawa helped make origami famous around the world. He created thousands of new origami designs and showed people in many countries how to fold paper into art.
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