What is money origami? Money origami involves the art of folding paper money. This may not sound too difficult. After all how much could a person actually make with a tiny dollar bill? Well over the years many people have taken on the challenge of money origami projects. Using the same principles that apply to paper origami, individuals have learned how to make clever and unique objects using money origami.

Some of the objects that have been successfully created using money origami are a spider, a butterfly, a shirt, a sailboat, a ring, a serpent, a valentine, just to name a few.

What would cause a person to begin money origami? It could be a number of things. Perhaps while sitting in a restaurant waiting on the waiter, the customer pulls out a paper bill and begins playing around with it. Students who are bored in the classroom look for things to occupy their minds and time. Why not make something out of their lunch money? Why this idea was started we’re not sure, but money origami can certainly pass time.

What type of bill can be used in money origami? The answer is to this question is simple – any currency is suitable for money origami. So it doesn’t matter which airport or restaurant you are waiting in, you can always pull out a paper bill and attempt money origami. Instead of visiting the gift shops and spending money, you can sit back, play with your money and save in the process.

Money origami may not sound very interesting to some people but to others it is quite fascinating and a reason to continue looking for new objects to make with their money. For people who are familiar with the art of origami, money origami is not a new concept. However for those who know little about origami, they may be astounded to see what can actually be made from a single dollar bill. It’s amazing what a dollar bill can get you by simply making a few simple folds.

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For young children, there is often the satisfaction of being able to fold a piece of paper into a figure that they aren’t yet capable of drawing. Origami teaches children much more than just how to make cute toys. They learn dexterity, and they learn to listen and follow directions. Children learn creativity and perception and, surprisingly, they learn to relax. In a world where so much is rushed, sitting quietly and folding paper figures can bring a sense of balance and peace to even young children.

When doing origami with young children it is important to remember certain things:

1. Practice folding the figures you plan to teach them yourself so you can pick out the steps that may cause them problems.

2. Some figures may need to be slightly simplified for younger children. Maybe just leaving out the final finishing steps will help.

3. Have a light, friendly workplace for the children and plenty of materials

4. Be sure to explain each fold in simple words, showing them (possibly on a large piece of paper) what they need to do each step of the way.

5. Be sure the children understand what they need to do and make sure you give them enough time to work it out themselves – don’t jump in too quickly to help them.

6. Let them try to fix their own mistakes without too much assistance. Let them know they can “try again” as many times as they need.

7. Children enjoy the repetition and they need time and repetition to work things out

8. Praise, praise and more praise – if the figure is somewhat crooked or a little wrinkled, so what?

9. Let the child express what he thinks of his piece. Everyone has different taste and opinions as to what is nice.

10. Children and abstract forms don’t always mix well. If it helps to let them color or paint faces on their animals – let them!

Some tips for beginners – pick a well lighted relaxing area to work in, start with simple figures and work your way up (some figures will have both simple and advanced instructions for the same animal). Don’t use really good paper to start with and for true beginners one of the best pieces of advice is to start with a larger piece of paper than what is called for. Make your folds as sharp and precise as possible; press down on the center of the fold with one finger and then run a finger from your other hand across the fold in both directions.

You can give your piece a somewhat different look or create an entirely different piece just by making a fold in a slightly different place.

Educational benefits of origami include learning how to listen and be attentive. In order to ensure success in an origami project, the student must listen carefully to instructions and pay very close attention to their actions. Origami requires precision and neatness, which will demand the student to be focused. In addition, these learning tools will teach a student to have pride in their work, which will in turn promote self-esteem.

The art of origami has the potential to teach children cooperative learning. This too is an important lesson in the classroom, as well as in life. Learning how to communicate and interact with others is essential. Origami is an activity that encourages students to help others. Some children will catch on to origami faster than others. Helping other students can promote feelings of pride and self-esteem. Of course the positive interaction is quite beneficial.

The mathematics of origami is significant. Using this activity is definitely an educational benefit in the area of math. Using just a single, flat piece of paper, the students will create objects that are three dimensional. This will require the students to use logical reasoning and explore mathematical aspects such as symmetry, algebra and geometry. The students, while doing origami, will be learning these concepts perhaps without even realizing it. The art of paper folding involves the use of these three mathematical concepts, which when practiced are educational benefits.

Origami encourages cognitive development. Practicing the art of origami requires students to use their motor skills. Using both hands, working together, the student must learn how to manipulate the paper to achieve their goal. The student must repeatedly carry out certain steps in order reach the suggested result. These actions require memory and motor skills, both necessary for the project and in every day life.

The educational benefits of origami are great. This activity, when used in the classroom or in a school, teaches students how to behave and get along in a group setting. It’s also a terrific project to work on as a group activity and goal. It’s imperative to teach students to maintain a healthy relationship with other students. It is also essential to teach a group of students how to use their individual skills to achieve one goal.

In Japan, from the early 1600’s through the late 1800’s, several forms of entertainment were developed for the common people; origami, having become an art form, was one of those entertainments. The popularity of origami was due in part to its simplicity and the fact that there was no need for special tools. The popularity of origami continued to grow through about the middle of the 19th century. Then, except for ceremonial usage, its popularity started to decline during the modernization of Japan.

It has been argued by some people that since paper was invented in China in 105AD, then logically paper folding must have followed shortly after. On the other hand, since there are no known records of Chinese paper folding and the oldest Japanese records only go back to the 18th century, some still believe that the invention must have been Japanese.

Buddhist monks brought paper with them to Japan in the late 6th century along with the art of paper folding. Although paper was very expensive, it was still used quite extensively in Japan, particularly in its architecture with paper screens, doors etc. The Shinto religion incorporated the use of origami in its ceremonies, and these shapes have remained unchanged for centuries.

Although the experts can’t agree on where origami originated, most of them agree that the Japanese are the ones who developed the traditional art form. This art form was passed down from generation to generation with nothing in writing. Due to all information being passed on orally, only the simplest designs were passed on. Around the year 1797 the first written instructions appeared. The publication they were in was called the Senbazuru Orikata (Thousand Crane Folding). It was followed nearly 50 years later with an encyclopedia that contained a full collection of these figures.

Modern origami has progressed to what it is today, in great part due to a man named Yoshizawa Akira who, in the early 1950’s, published books containing all new figures. In collaboration with San Randlett, an American, he developed the diagram symbols that are still used today. Today Yoshizawa is remembered as the grandmaster of origami and there are thousands of origami lovers worldwide. Thanks to the development of the diagram symbols it has been easier to record the instructions for the new shapes as they come along, ensuring future generations of the information.

Red and White Origami Columbine

As with any other craft origami has its own terms and techniques. Here are some basic horizontal and vertical folds. It is very important to keep all your folds crisp and clean.

The Book – fold a piece of paper (rectangular or square) down the middle vertically making certain the opposite edges line up one on top of the other. For many origami figures you will need to add another book figure – open the paper and make another fold across the middle horizontally again, making sure the edges lie one on top of the other. If you don’t open the book before making the second fold you end up with the handkerchief fold which gives you a small square with four layers of paper one on top of the other.

The Cupboard – using a square piece of paper make the book fold then open the paper and take each outside edge and fold it to the center line. By bringing each edge over to the next line you will end up making even more equal vertical strips.

The Fan – with either a square or rectangular piece of paper fold a Cupboard. Open the Cupboard; three valley folds (downward angles) divide the Cupboard into four equal sized strips. Turn the figure over; fold the edges onto the outer lines making two mountain folds. Turn the figure over and refold the Cupboard. Turn the Cupboard over once again and fold the edges into the middle line resulting in two mountain folds (upward angles). Fold up the figure and you have made an eight fold fan with alternating mountain and valley folds, also called an accordion fold.

The Lattice – make a Cupboard from a square piece of paper. Open the Cupboard and repeat the procedure folding in a horizontal direction. Open the paper and you have the Lattice. It is 16 equal sized squares used to make boxes, houses and simple animal bodies.

The Shawl – Make a diagonal fold down the middle of a square piece of paper making sure your edges and corners lay on top of each other. If you need a second diagonal fold open the sheet of paper completely before starting the second fold to get a more exact line.

The Envelope – using a square piece of paper make diagonal folds down the center in both directions. Open the paper and bring each corner up to the middle.

The Picture Frame - First make the Envelope. Open the envelope; turn each corner up to the outer diagonal line. Now fold the four corners inward and you have a picture frame.

Heaven and Hell – Fold an Envelope. Turn the Envelope over and fold each corner up into the center again. Turn the figure over and you will see pockets on the other side. Open these pockets. This figure was dubbed Heaven and Hell because it was usually made on red and blue paper. This particular fold can be used for making simple hand puppets and animal heads.