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Paper Play

Vehicles & flight

Paper boat

The traditional paper boat: start with the paper hat, open and flatten it twice, then pull it into a boat. It even floats.

  • DifficultyIntermediate
  • PaperA4 or a newspaper page
  • Steps10
  • About7 min

Why this level: Twice you open the model and flatten it into a square, and at the end you pull it into shape in 3D.

You need: 1 sheet of A4 paper

Preview Preview: checked on screen; real-paper verification is in progress.

Start folding

Steps at a glance

  1. 1. Fold in half

    Coloured side up, long sides vertical. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold is now at the top.

  2. 2. Mark the centre line

    Fold the right edge over to the left edge, crease, and unfold to mark the vertical centre line.

  3. 3. Fold the top corners to the centre

    Fold both top corners down so their edges meet on the centre line. Fold both layers together: a triangle roof with a strip left below.

  4. 4. Fold the front strip up

    Fold only the front layer of the bottom strip up along the base of the triangle. This is the brim.

  5. 5. Turn over; fold the other strip up

    Turn over and fold the remaining strip up along the base of the triangle in the same way. Its ends stick out a little past the triangle.

  6. 6. Open it into a square

    Open the bottom of the hat and press its two ends together until it lies flat as a square. The sticking-out ends of the strips fold back along the side lines. Turn it so the closed point is at the top.

  7. 7. Fold the bottom point up

    Fold the bottom point of the top layers up to the top point.

  8. 8. Turn over and repeat

    Turn over and fold the other bottom point up to the top point too. You get a triangle.

  9. 9. Open it into a smaller square

    Open the triangle at the bottom and press its two ends together until it lies flat as a smaller square. Turn it so the closed point is at the top.

  10. 10. Pull it into a boat

    Hold the two flap tips at the top, one in each hand, and slowly pull them apart. The lower half swings up to make the sides of the boat, the tips become its two ends, and the middle stands up like a sail. Done!

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