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How to make an origami
dodecahedron Youwill need30pieces of squarepaper, all the same size. Post-it noteswork particularlywellbecausethestickybitshelptoholdthemodeltogetherasyouaremakingit.These30pieceswillallbefoldedinthesamewayandthenassembledtomakethefinalmodel.
Tomakeamodule:
1) Foldapieceofpaperinhalf.Nowfoldoneflapuptothemiddlecrease,andrepeatwiththeotherside.YourpapershouldbeW-shaped.(Ifusingpost-itnotes,makesurethestickystripisontheoutsideoftheWshape.)
2) Pushingtheunitflat,foldup(alllayersof)thebottomleftcornertomeetthetopedge.Thenfolddownallofthetoprightcornertomeetthebottomedge.
3) Nowmakeacreasealongthediagonalbetweenthetwotrianglesyoujustfolded.
4) Repeatthiswithalltheotherpiecesofpaper,makingsuretofollowtheexactinstructionseachtime.Youshouldget30modulesthatlooklikethis:
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5) Thetrickyparthasnowcome:assemblingthemodel!Themainthingyouneedtoknowishowtofitthreemodulestogetheratacorner.
To fit two together, open up the flap of onemodule slightly (i.e. the bottom of theWshape) and tuck the second module inside, lining up the crease of the triangle of thesecondmodulewith the longdiagonal creaseof the firstmodule. Then tuck in the thirdmoduleinasimilarway.
Continuefittingmodulestogetheruntilyougetadodecahedron,whichhas12pentagonalsides.
Thelastfewmoduleswillbeabittrickytogetin,butdon’tgiveup!
Firstm
odule
Secondmodule
Tuckthisflapinsidethefirstmoduletolineupwiththelongdiagonal.
Foranextrachallenge,tryusingthreecoloursand
fittingthemodulestogethersothreedifferentcoloursmeetateachcorner.
Openuptheflaphereslightlytotuckthesecondmoduleinside.
