It’s nice and big with a cover size of 8.5×11 inches and 96 pages long. Instead of using origami to explore new ideas in mathematics, some researchers have used mathematical frameworks to explore new ideas in origami. Mind-Blowing Modular Origami is a very nice looking book. Or perhaps your questions will lead you in the opposite direction. This piece was on display at McKee Library in the fall. Then, for a truly mind-bending journey, you might land on the concept of higher-dimensional symmetric shapes. A dodecahedron origami piece signed by those who went on a mission trip with the artist. These 3D shapes have a lot of symmetry, though not as much as the Platonic solids. Questions about larger models will lead you to the Archimedean solids and the Johnson solids.

Questions about colouring will lead you to the mathematics of graphs and networks (and big questions that remained unsolved for many centuries). One seemingly innocent question can easily lead to a mathematical rabbit hole. Once you’ve mastered the basic structure of each 3D shape, you may find yourself (as others have done) pondering deeper mathematical questions.Ĭan you arrange the sonobe units so two units of the same colour never touch, if you only have three colours?Īre larger symmetric shapes possible? (Answer: yes!)Īre there relationships between the different 3D shapes? (For example, the icosahedron is basically built of triangles, but can you spot the pentagons lurking within? Or the triangles in the dodecahedron?) Julia Collins, Author provided Into the mathematical rabbit hole Sonobe units can be put together to build wondrous shapes. They require no mathematical background but will take you in some fascinating mathematical directions. My website Maths Craft Australia contains a range of modular origami patterns, as well as patterns for other crafts such as crochet, knitting and stitching. The majority of my modular designs are based on the dodecahedron or. So, for a little effort you are rewarded with a vast number of models to explore. Modular origami is the expression of emotion and visual patterns in the spherical form. Many modular origami patterns, although they may use different units, have a similar method of combining units into a bigger creation. The building blocks, called units, are typically straightforward to fold the mathematical skill comes in assembling the larger structure and discovering the patterns within them. That’s where you use several pieces of folded paper as “building blocks” to create a larger, often symmetrical structure.

Julia Collins The ‘building blocks’ of origami modelsĪs a geometer (mathematician who studies geometry), my favourite technique is modular origami. Once you’ve mastered the basic structure of a 3D shape, you may find yourself pondering deeper mathematical questions.

Modular origami dodecahedron