Supplies
Materials
Directions
- Fold the square in half diagonally.
- Fold in half again.
- Raise up one of the halves, and squash it down, opening it up.
- Flip the paper over and do the same to the other half, to end up with a square base.
- Fold in the paper to the middle like below.
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- Flip over the paper and do the same to the other side.
- Fold over the top of the triangle.
- Open up the recently made folds.
- Lift up the square from the bottom point.
- Fold in the paper to the center line.
- Flip over the paper and do the same.
- At the end where the paper flaps open like a pair of legs, fold in the paper to middle, as below.
- Flip over and do the same to the other side.
- Turn the paper inside-out, so you can no longer see the sides where you have just folded the paper into the middle.
- Fold over the paper as shown.
- Flip over and repeat.
- Turn inside-out once again, so that the paper looks like it does below.
Final touch to the Origami Peace Crane
- Open up the crane by gently pulling apart the two faces (the wings)
- Bend one end of the paper into a head.
Video
Going further
Make one thousand Origami Peace Cranes
There is another legend, surrounding these particular origami creations: If you make one thousand cranes, your wish will be granted. Their further associations with longevity and fidelity make a ‘senbazuru’ (collection of one thousand cranes) a special wedding present, gift to a newborn or ornament for the house. One of the first origami manuals to be written was 'Hiden Renzuru no Orikata', 1797, which illustrated techniques for folding multiple cranes. The ‘senbazuru’ is usually presented as 25 chains of 40 cranes on each chain, and the cranes are made from plain one-colored origami paper, of 7.5cm x 7.5cm in size.
The cranes have become a symbol of world peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki. This Japanese school girl was dying from leukemia developed as a result of the radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6 1945. Having heard of the popular legend, she wished to preserve her life by folding one thousand cranes. She sadly died from the disease, but her memory lives on in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, where her statue is surrounded by many thousands of cranes sent in from around the world.
- Make a pretty string of cranes by simply threading onto a string a button, bead or coin as a stopper, and then piercing each crane through their middle, and tying a loop once the chain is complete.
- Making chains of paper cranes is a great activity for the classroom. Each student can make a different color crane, then write a personal message on the wings. The perfect gift for a teacher or departing student!
Visit the monument to remember all the children who died because of the atomic bombings, in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
