STEM

Come explore the delightful and unexpected connections between origami and mathematics. Our focus will be high-school geometry and the ways that origami can illuminate the subject and offer surprises to even the most seasoned geometers. No mathematics background is required—this is a class for everyone. We’ll focus on models where you are free the pick the location of certain folds, with your choice helping to convey the generality of the mathematical results.

Malcolm Smith:

Malcolm will present on the use of the spring joint mechanism in action origami design, covering topics like: what are spring joints? how do you fold them? and how can they be applied to origami design?

Anjana Vaidyaraman: Rigid-Foldable Origami Structures in Aerospace

This presentation will focus on the applications of rigid-foldable structures in aerospace. Traditional origami is folded with thin paper, allowing multiple layers of paper to stack on top of each other while remaining flat. However, for a structure made of a thicker material, such as cardboard or metal, flexible "hinges" are needed to enable folding of the material, and the number of layers becomes an important consideration. In this panel, I will be discussing the design process behind two of my projects that incorporate rigid-folding structures: a foldable reflectarray antenna on an origami waterbomb crease pattern, and a deployable space habitat inspired by beech-leaf folding patterns.

Miles Wu:

In this presentation I will share how science research can be done at the middle school level. I will share how my love of origami led to researching the strength-to-weight ratio of the well-known Miura-Ori pattern, as well as my experience competing at the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge this past year.

Ojas Parekh: Origami in STEM Education

Origami can be more than an art. It can be a practical way to teach how shapes move, rotate, and fit together in space. This session looks at how folding paper helps elementary students build visuospatial reasoning and geometry skills through hands-on problem solving. I’ll share what I’ve seen from teaching the VisMO (Visualizing Mathematics through Origami) curriculum and my own workshops, including how simple folds can lead to deeper understanding of angles, symmetry, and logical thinking.