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How to fold an origami zoo

A real project. Cut, pleat and slit a gatehouse whose doors swing open, add a ZOO sign, then fold a giraffe, an elephant, a lion, a palm tree, a fence and a path. Glue it into one zoo that stands on the table.

You need: 12 pieces: a 15 cm teal square, then yellow, brown, green, grey, golden and sand pieces (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, a black pen and a white gel pen.. Challenge, 65 steps, about 60 minutes.

Steps

  1. Gate: fold in half. Start with the gate: a 15 cm teal square, teal side up. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  2. Gate: round the top. Round off the top corner at the open side with three short cuts, from 4 cm down the side to 4 cm in along the top.
  3. Gate: open it. Open the gate out flat again. The top is rounded on both sides, like an arch.
  4. Gate: pleat up. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 8.4 cm above it. The white side shows for now.
  5. Gate: pleat back down. Fold the flap back down on a crease 6 mm higher, 6 cm below the top. The pleat leaves a ledge across the gate.
  6. Gate: cut the doors. Through the front layer only: cut up the middle crease from the bottom to the ledge, then along the ledge 2.5 cm to each side.
  7. Gate: open the doors. Fold each door out over the front on an upright crease 2.5 cm from the middle. The white doors swing open.
  8. Sign: new sheet. Set the gate aside. For the sign, take a 10 × 3.2 cm yellow strip, yellow side up, lying long.
  9. Sign: white edges. Fold 4 mm of the top and bottom edges onto the front, for a white border.
  10. Sign: corners behind. Fold all four corners behind, 8 mm each way, so the sign has bevelled ends.
  11. Glue the sign on. Glue the sign across the top of the gate, 1.5 cm below the top, in the middle.
  12. Palm trunk: new sheet. Set the gate aside. For the palm trunk, take a 3 × 12 cm brown strip, white side up, standing tall.
  13. Palm trunk: sides in. Fold both long edges in to meet along the middle. The trunk is brown all over.
  14. Palm trunk: taper it. Cut a thin sliver off each side, from the bottom corners to 3 mm in at the top, so the trunk narrows upwards.
  15. Palm leaves: new sheet. Set the trunk aside. For the leaves, take a 12 cm green square, white side up.
  16. Palm leaves: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge. The fold along the top is where the leaves meet the trunk.
  17. Palm leaves: in half again. Fold the left half over onto the right half, so the middle of the top fold is now the top left corner.
  18. Palm leaves: to a point. Fold the bottom left corner up along the diagonal from that top left corner, making a thin wedge.
  19. Palm leaves: cut a leaf. Cut the wedge to a long point: from 2 cm along each folded side out to the middle of the far edge, 3 mm in from it.
  20. Palm leaves: open the point. Unfold the last fold.
  21. Palm leaves: open the fan. Unfold the half before it too. Four pointed leaves fan out down from the top fold.
  22. Giraffe: new sheet. Set the leaves aside. For the giraffe's body, take a 7 × 8 cm yellow piece, white side up, long side across.
  23. Giraffe: fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold on top is the giraffe's back.
  24. Giraffe: in half again. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  25. Giraffe: cut long legs. Cut a tall slant off the bottom corner at the fold, from 1.4 cm below the top to 2.4 cm along the bottom. Snip 5 mm off the other bottom corner and 6 mm off the top one.
  26. Giraffe: open it. Open the last fold. The body stands on four long, thin legs.
  27. Giraffe neck: new sheet. Set the body aside. For the neck, take a 2.8 × 14 cm yellow strip, white side up, standing tall.
  28. Giraffe neck: in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge, making a long thin strip that is yellow on both sides.
  29. Giraffe neck: fold the head. Fold the top 3 cm over to the right on a slant, so it points forward and a little down: the head.
  30. Elephant: new sheet. Set the neck aside. For the elephant's body, take a 9 × 8 cm grey piece, white side up, long side across.
  31. Elephant: fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold on top is the elephant's back.
  32. Elephant: in half again. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  33. Elephant: cut thick legs. Cut a slant off the bottom corner at the fold, from 2.5 cm below the top to 1.5 cm along. Snip the other bottom corner, and round the top one with two cuts.
  34. Elephant: open it. Open the last fold. A big round body on four stout legs.
  35. Elephant head: new sheet. Set the body aside. For the head, take a 4.5 × 5 cm grey piece, grey side up, standing tall.
  36. Elephant head: cut the trunk. Cut from 2.6 cm down the right side to 1.1 cm from the bottom left corner: the trunk hangs on the left. Round both top corners with small cuts.
  37. Ear: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the ear, take a 5 cm dark grey square, grey side up.
  38. Ear: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 1.2 cm each way, so the ear is a big round flap.
  39. Lion: new sheet. Set the ear aside. For the lion's body, take a 7 × 5.5 cm golden piece, white side up, long side across.
  40. Lion: fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold on top is the lion's back.
  41. Lion: in half again. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  42. Lion: cut the legs. Cut a slant off the bottom corner at the fold, from 1.3 cm below the top to 1.8 cm along. Snip 5 mm off the other bottom corner and 6 mm off the top one.
  43. Lion: open it. Open the last fold. The lion's body stands on four legs.
  44. Mane: new sheet. Set the body aside. For the mane, take a 6.5 cm brown square, brown side up.
  45. Mane: fold to a wedge. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  46. Mane: left to right. Fold the left half over onto the right half.
  47. Mane: along the diagonal. Fold the bottom left corner up along the diagonal from the top left corner (the middle of the sheet).
  48. Mane: cut a spike. Cut the wedge to a point: from 1.8 cm along each folded side out to the middle of the far edge.
  49. Mane: open the star. Unfold the last fold.
  50. Mane: keep opening. Unfold the left half back out.
  51. Mane: open flat. Unfold the top half back up. An eight-point brown star: the lion's shaggy mane.
  52. Lion face: new sheet. Set the mane aside. For the face, take a 3.5 cm golden square, golden side up.
  53. Lion face: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 1 cm each way, so the face is round.
  54. Path: new sheet. Set the face aside. For the path, take a 7 × 8 cm sand piece, sand side up, standing tall.
  55. Path: narrow it. Fold each long side behind on a slant, from the bottom corner to 1 cm in at the top. The path narrows to fit the gateway.
  56. Fence: new sheet. Set the path aside. Last, the fence: a 15 × 4 cm brown strip, brown side up, lying long.
  57. Fence: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
  58. Fence: in half again. Fold the right end back over onto the left fold.
  59. Fence: and again. Fold it in half once more the same way, to a stack about 1.9 cm wide. Crease hard.
  60. Fence: cut the posts. Snip a thin sliver off each side, from 2.8 cm down up to 5 mm below the top. Then cut a small bevel off each top corner.
  61. Fence: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  62. Fence: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  63. Fence: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Eight posts stand side by side on a solid rail.
  64. Build the zoo. Glue the gate over the fence's right end, the palm behind the elephant, the lion's mane and face by the gate, and the path's top 1 cm behind the gateway.
  65. Stand it up. Crease the path where it meets the gate. Stand the zoo up on the table, with the path lying flat, leading in through the gateway.

The zoo is open!

Write ZOO on the sign. Draw the giraffe's patches, horns and eye, the elephant's eye and white tusk, the lion's face and tail, and rings up the palm trunk.

What to fold next