How To

Below are four basic folding activities to get started.

Requirements/materials
There is no age or educational experience required. Any one that can fold a paper plate in half can do it; from five years old on up. Paper plates, masking tape and bobby pins are used. There is no cutting or measuring, only proportional folding of the circle. This is a process about touching points. If the points are accurately placed together the creased lines will be exactly where they need to be. Use a hard straight edge to get a good folded crease, a ruler or folding stick will do. It will also flatten the paper plate at the same time.

Folding circle in half
Any two points on the circumference of a circle, (imagined or marked) when touched exactly together will fold the circle in half, forming two new points on the circumference, 4 points total. The diameter is creased perpendicular to and half way between the direction of movement between two points. this symmetrical movement forms a tetrahedron pattern (4 points in space define a tetrahedron pattern). This right angle movement is triangulated and happens first, one Whole in two parts is a ratio of 1:2.



There is too much information generated in this one fold to go into it here. Everything that happens in this first is principle to all subsequent folding of the circle and is basic to the development of mathematics. This first fold models the tetrahedral pattern of the carbon atom, indicating the importance of this pattern as structural to the endless development of life formation. This first fold also reflects the origin of the circle, (movement goes in minimum two directs) and the diameter is also axis for spherical pattern.