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How to fold an origami classroom

A school day build. Fold a framed blackboard, a round wall clock, a bookcase full of pleated books, a globe, the teacher's desk and apple, two pupils at desks and the class rabbit, then stand it up.

You need: 28 pieces: pale-yellow A4; grey-blue, brown, dark-green, red, blue, green, gold, pink, black, skin paper (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, pens.. Challenge, 95 steps, about 100 minutes.

Steps

  1. Wall: crease the middle. Start with the wall: a pale-yellow A4 sheet lying long. Fold it in half, short edges together, and open it. It bends on this crease to stand.
  2. Floor: new sheet. Set the wall aside. For the floor, take a 29.7 × 10 cm grey-blue strip, white side up, long side across.
  3. Floor: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge. The fold is the front edge of the room.
  4. Blackboard frame: new sheet. Set the floor aside. For the blackboard's frame, take a 15.4 × 10 cm piece of brown paper, white side up, long side across.
  5. Blackboard frame: chalk ledge. Fold the top edge down 0.7 cm and the bottom edge up 1.3 cm. The wide bottom band is the chalk ledge.
  6. Blackboard frame: sides. Fold the left and right edges in 0.7 cm, through all layers. A brown frame round a white middle.
  7. Board: new sheet. Set the frame aside. For the board, take a 13.5 × 6.9 cm piece of dark-green paper, green side up.
  8. Board: top and bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges behind 3 mm, for crisp, straight edges.
  9. Board: sides. Fold the sides behind 3 mm too. The board just covers the white middle of the frame.
  10. Clock: new sheet. Set the board aside. For the clock, take a 3.6 cm red square, white side up.
  11. Clock: corners in. Fold each corner in on a slant, 1.2 cm along each edge. Small red triangles.
  12. Clock: top and bottom rim. Fold the top and bottom edges in 4.5 mm.
  13. Clock: side rim. Fold the sides in 4.5 mm too. A red rim goes all the way round a white face: a round wall clock.
  14. Bookcase: new sheet. Set the clock aside. For the bookcase, take a 12 × 13.8 cm piece of brown paper, white side up, standing tall.
  15. Bookcase: sides to the middle. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle. Brown all over: the back of the bookcase.
  16. Bookcase: top board and plinth. Fold the top edge down 0.9 cm and the bottom edge up 1.3 cm, through all layers: the top board and the plinth.
  17. Top books: new sheet. Set the bookcase aside. For a row of books, take a 6.5 × 2.5 cm piece of red paper, coloured side up, long side across.
  18. Top books: pleat 1. Fold the right part over to the left on a line 2 cm from the left end.
  19. Top books: pleat 1 back. Fold it back to the right on a line 3.5 mm further left. The pleat's edge parts two books.
  20. Top books: pleat 2. Fold the right part over to the left on a line 3.6 cm from the left end.
  21. Top books: pleat 2 back. Fold it back to the right, 3.5 mm further left.
  22. Top books: lean the last book. Fold the top right corner behind on a slant, so the last book leans on its neighbour.
  23. Middle books: new sheet. Set it aside. For the next row, take a 6.5 × 2.5 cm piece of blue paper, coloured side up, long side across.
  24. Middle books: pleat 1. Fold the right part over to the left on a line 1.6 cm from the left end.
  25. Middle books: pleat 1 back. Fold it back to the right, 3.5 mm further left.
  26. Middle books: pleat 2. Make a second pleat the same way, 3.5 cm from the left end.
  27. Middle books: pleat 2 back. Fold it back to the right, 3.5 mm further left.
  28. Middle books: lean the last book. Fold the top right corner behind on a slant.
  29. Bottom books: new sheet. Set it aside. For the next row, take a 6.5 × 2.6 cm piece of green paper, coloured side up, long side across.
  30. Bottom books: pleat 1. Fold the right part over to the left on a line 2.2 cm from the left end.
  31. Bottom books: pleat 1 back. Fold it back to the right, 3.5 mm further left.
  32. Bottom books: pleat 2. Make a second pleat the same way, 3.9 cm from the left end.
  33. Bottom books: pleat 2 back. Fold it back to the right, 3.5 mm further left.
  34. Bottom books: lean the last book. Fold the top right corner behind on a slant.
  35. Globe foot: new sheet. Set the books aside. For the globe's foot, take a 2.7 cm gold square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  36. Globe foot: fold up. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner. A gold triangle.
  37. Globe foot: narrow it. Fold the left and right corners behind, 8 mm each, for a slim foot.
  38. Globe: new sheet. Set the foot aside. For the globe, take a 3.6 cm blue square, blue side up.
  39. Globe: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 1 cm along each edge: a round blue world.
  40. Land: new sheet. Set the globe aside. For the land, take a 2 × 1.5 cm green piece, green side up.
  41. Land: uneven corners. Fold the four corners behind, each by a different amount, for a bumpy island shape.
  42. Drawers: new sheet. Set the land aside. For the desk's drawers, take a 2.9 × 11.1 cm piece of dark-brown paper, white side up, standing tall.
  43. Drawers: top and bottom in. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet in the middle. Two brown drawers, one above the other.
  44. Teacher's desk: new sheet. Set the drawers aside. For the teacher's desk, take a 22.3 × 2 cm dark-brown strip, long side across.
  45. Teacher's desk: narrow it. Fold the top and bottom edges behind to meet in the middle at the back. Press hard: a stiff strip.
  46. Teacher's desk: bend the ends. Fold both ends down on slants from the bottom corners, so they stand straight down: a long desk with two legs.
  47. Apple: new sheet. Set the desk aside. For the teacher's apple, take a 3 cm square of red paper, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  48. Apple: corners to the middle. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  49. Apple: round the corners. Fold the four corners of the square over a little: the two top ones a bit, the two bottom ones more.
  50. Apple: turn it over. Flip it over so the smooth red side faces you.
  51. Apple leaf: new sheet. Set the apple aside. For its leaf, take a 1.1 cm square of green paper, white side up.
  52. Apple leaf: make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in so they meet in the middle.
  53. Apple leaf: make it narrow. Fold the two short top edges in to meet along the middle too.
  54. Apple leaf: tilt it. Turn the leaf so it points up and out from the top.
  55. Apple stem: new sheet. Set the leaf aside. For the stem, take a 0.3 × 0.8 cm piece of brown paper, white side up.
  56. Apple stem: fold it in half. Fold the strip in half from left to right, the long way, to make a thin stem.
  57. First pupil's hair: new sheet. Set the stem aside. Now the first pupil. Start with the hair: a 3.9 × 3.4 cm piece of brown paper.
  58. First pupil's hair: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 10 mm along each edge.
  59. First pupil's jacket: new sheet. Set the hair aside. For the jacket, take a 7.2 × 4.2 cm piece of pink paper, white side up.
  60. First pupil's jacket: sides in. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle: the two fronts of a jacket.
  61. First pupil's jacket: collar. Fold the top middle corners out on slants, 1 cm down. Their white backs make a neat collar.
  62. First pupil's jacket: shoulders. Fold the top outer corners behind, 8 mm along each edge, for round shoulders.
  63. First pupil's head: new sheet. Set the jacket aside. For the head, take a 2.7 cm square of skin-tone paper.
  64. First pupil's head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 6 mm along each edge: a round face.
  65. First pupil's desk: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the desk, take a 16.8 × 1.8 cm light-brown strip, long side across.
  66. First pupil's desk: narrow it. Fold the top and bottom edges behind to meet in the middle at the back. Press hard: a stiff strip.
  67. First pupil's desk: bend the ends. Fold both ends down on slants from the bottom corners, so they stand straight down: a desk with two legs.
  68. Open book: new sheet. Set the desk aside. For an open book, take a 4.5 × 1.8 cm piece of blue paper, blue side up, long side across.
  69. Open book: cover edges. Coloured side up, long edges at the top and bottom. Fold a thin strip of the top and bottom edges behind, about 1 mm.
  70. Open book: pages to the middle. Fold the left and right ends in to meet in the middle. These are the white pages, and the line where they meet is the spine.
  71. Open book: dip the pages. Fold each page's corners next to the spine over on a gentle slant, so the pages dip into the middle at the top and the bottom.
  72. Second pupil's hair: new sheet. Set the book aside. Now the second pupil, folded the same way. Start with the hair: a 3.2 × 1.9 cm piece of black paper.
  73. Second pupil's hair: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 8 mm along each edge.
  74. Second pupil's jacket: new sheet. Set the hair aside. For the jacket, take a 7.2 × 4.2 cm piece of blue paper, white side up.
  75. Second pupil's jacket: sides in. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle.
  76. Second pupil's jacket: collar. Fold the top middle corners out on slants for the white collar.
  77. Second pupil's jacket: shoulders. Fold the top outer corners behind, 8 mm along each edge, for round shoulders.
  78. Second pupil's head: new sheet. Set the jacket aside. For the head, take a 2.7 cm square of skin-tone paper.
  79. Second pupil's head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 6 mm along each edge: a round face.
  80. Second pupil's desk: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the desk, take a 16.8 × 1.8 cm light-brown strip, long side across.
  81. Second pupil's desk: narrow it. Fold the top and bottom edges behind to meet in the middle at the back. Press hard: a stiff strip.
  82. Second pupil's desk: bend the ends. Fold both ends down on slants from the bottom corners: desk legs.
  83. Class rabbit: new sheet. Set the desk aside. Last, the class rabbit: a 6 cm square of brown paper, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  84. Class rabbit: fold in half. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner. The long fold at the bottom is the ground; the rabbit will face right.
  85. Class rabbit: snip the tail. Snip 1.6 cm along the bottom fold from the left point, so the two layers of the point come apart.
  86. Class rabbit: cotton tail. Fold each layer's point up and back on a slanted crease from the end of the snip, the front one to the front and the back one behind. It turns white.
  87. Class rabbit: round back. Cut the top off in a round hump, from the rump over the back and down the chest to the ground. Snip the tail's top corners off so it looks fluffy.
  88. Rabbit head: new sheet. Set the body aside. For its head, take a 2.4 cm square of brown paper, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  89. Rabbit head: make a triangle. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner.
  90. Rabbit head: corners down. Fold the left and right corners down to meet the bottom point.
  91. Rabbit head: snip the ears free. Cut along both slanted folds, from the outer corners about two-thirds of the way to the top middle.
  92. Rabbit head: ears up. Fold both flaps up so their points stand tall above the top edge, leaning out a little.
  93. Rabbit head: turn it over. Flip the head over so the smooth side faces you.
  94. Build the scene. Glue the floor, blackboard, clock and bookcase with its books on the wall, the globe on top. Then the desk and apple, the pupils behind their desks and the rabbit.
  95. Stand it up. Bend the wall gently towards you on the middle crease and stand the whole classroom up on the table.

Good morning, class!

Chalk ABC, a sum and a sun on the board with a white pen. Draw the clock hands, labels on the books, drawer knobs, the pupils' faces and the rabbit's eye.

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