BELLE FOURCHE—Can you imagine turning a blank sheet of paper into a frog that actually hops, simply by folding it in just the right places? That’s exactly what participants discovered at this month’s Family Fun Day, where Tri-State Museum staff taught the art of origami on the afternoon of February 15.
The word origami is from Japanese, with ori meaning folding and kami meaning paper, which is exactly what everyone at the event spent the day doing!
Museum Director Kristi Thielen welcomed everyone to the class. “Origami is a really interesting art that probably came from Korea and then navigated its way to China and to Japan… It was originally done only by high society and it was considered rather a lofty art form often used for ceremonial purposes only,” she shared. “It became so popular that it became a recreational art form for everybody to enjoy!”
The room full of families that showed up to learn how to create shapes out of paper seemed to enjoy learning about the art form as they carefully folded each paper and saw their creations take shape.
For the first project, everybody followed along with a short video that gave step-by-step instructions on how to fold an origami snapper puppet. The puppet included big teeth and a mouth along with eyes and a nose.
After that, participants followed instructions to create a few more art pieces. During the folding there was conversation and laughter as everyone seemed to enjoy the day. Cookies and drinks were available to consume.
A fun take-home packet about the art of origami was given out, and the book The Origami Book for Kids by Lila Folds was given away to one lucky kid. Hudson won the drawing and received the book.
For kids in the third through fifth grade, a special class to learn all about groundhogs is scheduled for Saturday, February 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Students get to create their own groundhog! There will be a chance to win a book as well as activities and a presentation. If you know of anyone who would love to learn about groundhogs, make sure to preregister with the Museum by calling 605-723-1200.
Thielen explained that the Tri-State Museum can no longer get flyers into the Spearfish school system, so if anyone from that area would like to be notified about upcoming events at the Museum, please call and get added to the mailing list.
Read the full issue of the Belle Fourche Beacon by clicking here.
