Self-Folding Robot

Hat tip Kathy Knapp from the O-List.

This is the first time that a robot has been able to demonstrate a complete life cycle like this, and eventually, it’ll be doing it inside your body.

Read the article.

NOA #478 Review

Sunday Funnies

Source

Hungry Series

Beth Johnson was kind enough to take the time to diagram and share a series of action moving mouth action models she created.   Some fun-looking models.

Bennett Arnstein's Yin-Yang 20-Piece Spike Ball

I'm blogging this on behalf of Bennett. 

The Yin Yang Spike Ball:  Two colors wrap around each other. Each color is comprised of 10 modules. For folding instructions, check out the ebook "Spike Ball Heaven", sold as a pdf download on the OUSA website.

Sunday Funnies

Sunday Funnies

Source & Commentary

Last Sunday....

....was 1st Sunday Origami Fun at Marti's (Marti is in Vietnam, so was absent from her own meeting).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Polypopagons

Finally got around to making some TMNT polypopagons!

 

Photos here

Sunday Funnies

THE FOURTH AWAKENS!

NOA #477 May Issue

Oops!  Forgot about posting this:

Sunday Funnies

Source

5 Reasons Why Origami Improves Students' Skills

 Ainissa Ramirez:

What do pizza boxes, paper bags, and fancy napkins have in common? Well, you might have guessed it -- origami.
Origami, the ancient art of paper folding, is making a comeback. While some of the oldest pieces of origami have been found in ancient China and its deepest roots are in ancient Japan, origami can make an impact in today's education too. This art form engages students and sneakily enhances their skills -- including improved spatial perception and logical and sequential thinking.

An Art Form for All Subjects

Don’t believe me? Researchers have found a number of ways that origami can make lessons enticing, while giving students skills they need. (Think of it as vegetables blended into spaghetti sauce.) Here are some ways that origami can be used in your classroom to improve a range of skills:

Read the rest.  The last reason given is my fave.


Hat tip:  Joseph Wu Origami Inc.

Spinning Cup Topper

Bunka-Sai Sunday

This is an annual event in Torrance, CA.  Hisako and Yami helped out on Saturday.  I came Sunday to help out Pam Miike since she helped me at my Cherry Blossom Festival last Saturday.

I taught polypopagons, using my pre-scored cards.

Photos here.

Origami Games

Kinokuniya bookstore in Little Tokyo, LA- an advertisement for Joel Stern's book

Ilan Garibi has put together a collection of origami contest/games, commonly seen at origami conventions around the world. 

It got me to thinking about different ways in which to have origami games, in general (Not just amongst expert paperfolders).

One of the things I've been doing for the past several years at the Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival is the "Quick Fold" contest. 

Typically, Yami would end our onstage demonstration by teaching a highly complex piece of origami to the audience- his simple banger.  I'd then host a quick draw contest, complete with showdown music (Sergio Leone's spaghetti western sounds) and origami cowboy hats; followed by Samurai music (Abarenbo Shogun and Hissatsu Shigotonin) and various Samurai hats for contestants to wear. 

Dueling folders stand on opposite ends of the stage and on the count of 3, pick up a fresh sheet of paper and start folding a banger.  First one to successfully fold and make their model snap wins a prize (I usually give a prize to both participants).  I've yet to see anyone simplify a banger after understanding the concept of what creates the sound (they assume they need to fold the exact model they were just taught; and that they should fold it neatly). 

Sunday Funnies

Source & Commentary

2015 Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival

This was from last weekend. 

Excerpt from Saturday's 40 minute stage demo:

Joseph Wu's Usagi Yojimbo:

This kid Reilly had some of the most delightful reactions and facial expressions while playing with the polypopagon.  All 3 kids were pretty funny with the model hitting themselves in the face:

There was a new magician (not on the schedule) who performed on Sunday.  A 17 year-old kid, I think he was the nephew of one of the puppeteers.  I happened to film part of his magic crane act after I heard him make mention of one of the 3 pictures on cards he had for a volunteer to choose from, was that of a paper crane.  I guessed that the tsuru would be the forced card and anticipated what he was about to do in time to film it:




Another paper mischief from him here.

Allen and Wayne are the regular magicians who come annually.  Wayne plugged origami in his dollar bill transformation trick:

Allen thought his performance was on Sunday (it was supposed to be on Saturday) and closed out the Sunday indoor stage shows.  So we had 3 magicians in one day!



Marti Reis came out to help me on Saturday; and on Sunday, I had Pam Miike.  Slow traffic, but still had fun. 


Photos here.

Is origami craft or art?

I say it's both.

Help raise money for origami books and paper for children's hospitals

Sent by John Scully on the Origami-L:

Ohio Paper Folders has launched a gofundme campaign to raise money to
provide origami books and paper to children's hospitals all over North
America.  Each hospital will receive twenty-five each of four different 44
page 6x9 inch full color origami books and 100 50-sheet packages of origami
paper, so kids do not just get to just use an origami book, but take one
home with them.

The more we raise, the lower the unit cost will be, because we will be able
to place orders directly with the manufacturers in Asia for 20,000 to 30,000
packages of paper, plus of course the printing costs go WAY down per book
when we are talking about 5,000 of each book instead of just a few hundred.

But - even if we only raise five thousand Dollars we can still supply ten
hospitals.
At ten thousand we can supply twenty.
At fifteen thousand, our unit costs start to drop and we can supply forty
hospitals, at twenty-eight thousand we can supply one hundred, and at
forty-one thousand almost two hundred hospitals.  That is more than enough
to do all 190 children's hospitals in the country!

Now - what do you get in return, other than the great feeling from spreading
the joy of origami?  We thought about that for a long time before we came up
with something of real value to the donors that does not use up the funds we
are raising.  Well, since we sell origami paper at
shop.ohiopaperfolders.com, we can give you discounts on future purchases of
paper - up to a 35% discount for life at the higher donation levels.

Please support our project by making a donation, and please share this out
to others!

To make a donation or for more information, please visit
http://www.gofundme.com/origamiForHospital