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Easy Infinite Supernova


Origami: an Art Form for All Subjects

What do pizza boxes, car airbags, and fancy napkins have in common? Well, you might have guessed it -- Origami.

Composed of the Japanese words O R U (to fold) and K A M I (paper), this ancient paper-folding art 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.

Science: Origami is a fun way to explain physics concepts. A thin piece of paper is not very strong, but if you fold it like an accordion it will be. Bridges are based on this concept. Also, origami is a fun way to explain molecules. Many molecules have the shape of tetrahedrons and other polyhedra.

Technology: What if you could swallow a robot that could move about inside your body to perform simple surgical procedures? Researchers at MIT have created an origami-inspired bot that folds small enough to fit in a pill; once inside the body, it’s designed to unfurl and steer its way through the gut with help from external magnets. Likewise, origami-inspired forceps are helping to revolutionize robotic surgery, allowing for delicate, precise cuts.

Engineering: Many of the real-world applications for origami can be found within engineering. Take the example of car airbags. Their compact, quick inflating design was inspired by origami. Engineers took inspiration from origami patterns and folding methods to deploy how the airbag is stored and deployed.

Maths: Origami has been found to strengthen an understanding of geometric concepts, formulas, and labels, making them come alive. It demonstrates fractions in a tactile way to illustrate the concepts of one-half, one-third, or one-fourth by folding paper.

So no matter how you fold it, origami is a way to get children engaged in math, could improve their skills, and makes them appreciate the world around them more. When it comes to making lessons exciting, origami is above the fold.


Today, we'll make an Easy Infinite Supernova, having colors of a rainbow. We'll need a total of 7 units for this, but I promise that the folding is much easier than any of the previous Infinite Supernovas.


Things We Need
  • 7 Origami papers, 15 cm x 15 cm
  • Flat surface for folding
  • Paper glue

Building Block: Making a Unit (1/4)

Start with a square sheet of paper. Fold it in half diagonally and unfold it.

Fold the paper again in half along the other diagonal and unfold it.

Now, fold all the corners to the center of the paper where the two diagonal creases are intersecting each other.

Sharpen all the creases well.


 Building Block: Making a Unit (2/4)

Start with unfolding any one of the corners

Then fold it so that the tip touches the crease we just unfolded.

Repeat this with other corners.


Building Block: Making a Unit (3/4)

Flip the paper and fold all the corners to the center of the paper.

Carefully sharpen the crease using your fingernail.


Building Block: Making a Unit (4/4)

Flip the paper again and hold the paper so that anyone corner is facing you.

Now hold the corner facing toward the right between the thumb and index finger of your right hand. Similarly, hold the corner facing toward the left between the thumb and index finger of your left hand.

Gently pinch the corners, so that it resembles a small hat. Release your hold and repeat this with the other two corners so that the paper automatically ends up folding into a shape of a Heart.

Our Unit is ready (Pic 6). We need to make 7 such units for our Mini Infinite Supernova


Assembly

Glue all the units together. Then arch the strand and glue the ends to make a circle.

That's it. We are done. It's time to play now!

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Location: Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

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