I am so excited to share with you a new origami book. Now some origami tutorials can be difficult to follow, but this book is amazing!! Now I have posted about how I use origami in my geometry class. Today's book is perfect for the classroom!! The book is Origami Polyhedra for Beginners: Amazing Geometric Paper Models from a Leading Japanese Expert! by Miyuki Kawamura.
Ingenious geometric models from Japan's leading designer of polyhedral origami!
Origami Polyhedra for Beginners puts a new spin on the ancient art of paper folding, opening the door to a world filled with beautiful geometric shapes. In this book, Miyuki Kawamura, a master of polyhedral origami, shows you how to create 55 different models using squares of brightly-colored paper.
Modular origami models are created using multiple sheets of paper that are folded and then locked together without the use of glue or tape. Clear step-by-step instructions for each model are provided. These amazing creations will captivate everyone who sees them!
The models in this book are surprisingly easy to make, and include:
- Building Blocks and Tiles which can be stacked and combined
- Striking Pyramids, Cubes, Stars and Spheres
- Dramatic polyhedral "Wireframes" and "Skeletons" with open latticework
- Star-shaped Icosahedrons that look like they belong on a Christmas tree
- Playful Windmills, Water Wheels and many other Polyhedral "Kits"!
About the Author:
Miyuki Kawamura started folding origami at the age of two. She folded animal models, which were her favorite subject. Miyuki received a masters degree in Physics in 1995 from Kobe University. Shortly thereafter, she began to create original polyhedral models. She is famous for some of her incredible origami pieces, such as the Cosmosphere--a massive wireframe kusudama model requiring nearly 2,000 pieces of paper to complete. She has published several books on the subject of polyhedral origami and is currently on the board of the Japanese Origami Academic Society (JOAS).
From Me:
Now I have shared origami polyhedra books previously. They are great but often hard to follow. Origami Polyhedra for Beginners has easy tutorials for everything from polygons through polyhedra. Not only does it have easy tutorials it has pages with geometric lessons on the types of shapes the tutorials are making. It begins with two-dimensional shapes called polygons. After the tutorials there is a page explaining what polygons are. It looks like it is taken from a geometry textbook.
I tried several of the polygons because they reminded me of the quadrilateral origami idea I shared previously. These were very easy to make, and I love the variety: equilateral triangle, rhombus, regular pentagon, regular hexagon, and a regular octagon. The next really neat project is building bricks. I didn't try different sizes, but these are so easy to make, and I can see many children enjoying hours building with them.
Next come the prisms. They have various bases. I tried a few. Again, the tutorials were easy. They are open prisms without a top or bottom.
Next they have antiprisms. These I had trouble keeping together but think I might try glue on them.
Next come the polyhedra. They have various ones including pyramids, stars and "solids".
I didn't try any of these yet, but they look fun and relatively easy to follow. Again, I love the pages explaining a bit of the geometry. This book is great for the beginner origami creator as well as the geometry classroom. Kids of different ages will have success with these tutorials. I hope you check it out.
