How to Do Origami Boats

Explore the outdoors by sailing your boat in a nearby pond.

Spark your child's, and your own creativity, by learning to make an origami boat. Even though the boat is made of paper, it floats and you can seal it against water to make it last longer. Personalize your boats by decorating them with paint, glitter and stickers, or make the boats with traditional, brightly-colored origami paper. Float your boats in a pond or creek, or simply test the waters in your bathtub.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Scissors
• Paint (optional)
• Decoupage glue
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Cut a piece of paper to 8.5 by 11 inches, or a relative size. You can use patterned origami paper, newspaper or a simple sheet of printer paper. Thicker paper will last longer, but it is more difficult to fold.

2. Fold the piece of paper in half, lengthwise, so that is measures 8.5 by 5.5 inches. Hold the paper with the crease at the top. Find the center of the 8.5-inch side by beginning to fold the paper in half. Make a small crease near the top of the paper.

3. Fold each corner in, towards the center, so the corners meet and align with the crease. You will have a triangle with a band at the bottom. Fold the top piece of the band up, then crease it where it aligns with the bottom of the triangle. Turn the paper over and do the same to the rest of the band. The band will resemble a hat brim.

4. Open the "hat" by sliding your finger between the two sides. Bring together the two corners of the "hat brim" and collapse the paper into a perfect square. Push one of the corners of the "hat brim" brim below the other, to aid in collapsing. Hold the paper so that it resembles a diamond with the two "hat brim" sides pointing down.

5. Grasp the top sheet, of the bottom of the diamond, and fold it up so that it aligns with the top. Turn the paper over and do the same to the other side. You will now have a small triangle.

6. Slide your finger into the bottom of the triangle to open it. Bring together the bottom corners of the triangle and collapse the paper into a square again. Hold the paper so that the two corners are at the bottom of the diamond.

7. Place a hand on each side of the top point of the diamond and pull the paper apart. Pull until you have a straight line at the bottom of the paper and crease.

8. Decorate your boat with paint, glitter, sequins or stickers. Once the paint dries, apply a coat of decoupage glue on to the boat to seal it from water.

References

• Origami Instructions; Origami Boat