As a girl in Shanghai, China, Nancy Bjorge kept her fingers busy folding tiny paper boats. The shapes signified ingots, she says, and her grandmother pressed her to produce them by the hundreds.

Back in 1999, Erik Demaine was a PhD student who created an algorithm that determined the folding patterns necessary to turn a piece of paper into any 3D shape. However, the algorithm was far from ...

Origami — the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes — is easy to learn and fun to do with kids of all ages. The best part? Almost no mess to clean up. Try these three simple craft ...