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How to fold an origami parasaurolophus

Fold a long sheet in half, reverse-fold a thick tail and a neck, and cut four legs. Slit the neck tip in two and crimp one half back as the crest, the other forward as the bill.

You need: A 32 x 15 cm strip, teal on one side; scissors and a ruler. Hard, 19 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, long sides at the top and bottom, fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold at the top is the back.
  2. Crease the crest line. Fold the top fold down 8 mm through both layers and crease it hard.
  3. Open it. Unfold it again. This crease will split the head into a crest and a bill.
  4. Slit the crest. Cut along the crease from the right edge, 7 cm in, through both layers.
  5. Crease the legs. Fold the left end over on an upright crease 12.4 cm from the left edge, and the right end behind on one 14.7 cm from the right edge.
  6. Open them. Unfold both ends again. The two creases mark the inside edges of the legs.
  7. Tail end back. Outside-reverse-fold the left end back over the body on an upright crease 9 cm from the left edge.
  8. Cut the tail. Cut up the left end fold, leaving 3 cm at the top. Trim the flap to a point: a slant from there to its far end on the top fold.
  9. Tail out. Outside-reverse-fold the tail strip out on a crease from its top corner, so the thick tail points back and a little down.
  10. Neck end back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body on an upright crease 13 cm from the right edge.
  11. Cut the neck. Cut up the right end fold, leaving 3 cm at the top; trim the flap to 2.9 cm deep at its tip. Cut 2.3 cm off the tip below the slit, and round the top corner.
  12. Cut the legs. Cut up both leg creases to 4.4 cm below the top fold. Cut the belly between them in a shallow curve, 5 cm below the top in the middle.
  13. Shape the legs. Cut 1.8 cm off the bottom of the front legs. Slant the outside edge of each leg in 5 mm at the foot and the inside edge 3 mm.
  14. Neck up. Outside-reverse-fold the neck strip up on a crease from its bottom corner, so the neck rises up and forward.
  15. Crest: down. From the end of the slit, outside-reverse-fold the back half of the tip down, round over the front of the neck.
  16. Crest: back. Reverse-fold it on round from the same point, so the long crest sweeps back and a little up.
  17. Bill: down. Outside-reverse-fold the front half of the tip down the other way, round over the back of the neck and the crest.
  18. Bill: forward. Reverse-fold it on round from the same point, so the blunt bill points forward and down.
  19. Stand it up. Tip it forward until all four feet touch the table. The short front legs lower the shoulders, so the back slopes down to the neck.

Honk!

Draw an eye just under the crest on each side. Blow gently along the crest and pretend it honks like a trumpet!

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