Six Point Star
Project taught by Dr. Eva Szillery at the Downtown Education Collaborative in Lewison, ME.
The project was originally designed by: Francis Ow
This project requires six identical units.
Directions to fold one unit:
1) Fold the paper in half as shown below.
2) Turn the paper, now folded in half, so that the open side is facing away
from you or "up" as shown below. Then fold the top left corner down so that
a 30-60-90 triangle is formed. You should notice that the fold at the center
bisects the 60 degree angle, now at the bottom left.
3) Now fold the lower left corner up in the same way, as shown below.
4) Fold one of the "triangle ends" so that it lines up with the other "triangle
end" to form a boat (trapezoid) shape.
5) Now open the "boat" to see the fold below:
6) If your shape looks exactly like the one above, unfold it to show this
pattern:
7) Now fold the top two triangles down along the fold that already exists.
8) Turn over.
9) Now push the middle section inward, as shown in the two pictures below:
10) Next, pull the bottom part upward.
11) Flatten the piece you have made, to create the finished unit. See
the picture of two finished pieces below (side view)!
12) Notice that the two trapezoids are facing in the same direction.
13) Still facing in the same direction, slide the closed end of the left
trapezoid into the open end of the right trapezoid until the triangular part
at the top sits evenly as an equilateral triangle. The smaller base of the
trapezoid will also rest evenly in the fold of the right trapezoid.
14) You now have two points of the star. One is at approximately
"12 o'clock" and the other at approximately "2 o'clock" as shown above.
Notice the small triangle at about "10 o'clock" which will be used to paperclip
the two pieces together. The picture below shows the first "paperclip" fold
which is inserted into the opening on the side where the finger is pointing.
15) The second paperclip fold is made below, and the first two pieces
are securely attached.
16) Continue adding the remaining four units, one at a time, to the leftside of the shape below.
The shape below has been rotated to the right with each addition, though you really are adding onto
the left side each time!
17) Close-up view of the finished star:
