Paper Airplanes in MTV, the Church Balcony and in the Museum

March 6th, 2010

Paper airplanes have always been a part of popular culture. Who hasn’t flown a paper airplane at least once in their lives? Now you can see paper airplanes in MTVs (like the one above).

The Guggenheim Museum in New York has a gaping space that could use paper airplanes,  according to one visionary. You can read the rest of the story here.

If you go to church and always wanted to throw paper airplanes from your church balcony seating, here’s your chance. The First United Unitarian Church at 232 2nd St. in downtown Marietta will be hosting a paper airplane contest this Sunday, March 7. Details here.

You can find instructions on how to fold 50 paper airplanes by visiting the link.

Fly Paper Airplanes As Art

March 2nd, 2010

Justin Parr made hundreds of paper airplanes. He invites visitors to Blue Star Contemporary Art Center’s 25th Anniversary Exhibit to pick one of the signed and numbered paper airplanes and fly them.

You can read more about the exhibit here.

Meanwhile more and more fund raisers are using paper airplanes to generate funds. A dollar per paper airplane flown is often the “rate”. It’s nice to know that the simple paper airplane is being utilized to generate funds for causes such as breast cancer and for earthquake victims relief operations in Haiti.

Paper airplanes are not just fun, they also help save lives!

Students Fly Paper Airplanes All Over The World

February 26th, 2010

Several dozen fourth-graders sat inside a room Thursday at their Somis school as a small video camera projected their images and voices to classrooms throughout the world.

The class at Mesa School took part in Megaconference Jr. 2010 — a daylong video-conferencing program put on by educational agencies, colleges and information technology companies to allow K-12 students around the globe to share their projects.

For the kids at Mesa, it was a chance to show students as close as Northern California or as far away as Finland how they explored space and time with paper airplanes.

Read the rest of the story here

The Science of Flight

January 25th, 2010

Learn the science behind flight by making paper airplanes, two-loop gliders and straw rockets at the South Park branch of the Seattle Public Library today. Representatives from the Museum of Flight will hold a workshop about aerodynamics and the motions and controls of an airplane aimed at ages 6 and up. The program is free, but registration is suggested. Drop-in participation will be accepted on a space available basis. Sessions from 2-3 p.m. or 3-4 p.m. today. 8604 Eighth Ave. S., Seattle (206-615-1688 orwww.spl.org).

“Between The Folds” An Origami Documentary

January 21st, 2010

Almost everybody thinks that folding paper airplanes and paper cranes is but child’s play. This very far from the truth. Today, origami as an art turned a new leaf as modern technology is used to come with patterns never before possible. “Between the Folds” is a documentary that explores the sophisticated world of origami and is showing this Sunday, January 24th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre.

It is a well accepted fact that origami originated in Japan although it is also possible that paper folding was done a lot earlier in China. Paper folding is also seen in the traditions of some European countries such as Spain and Germany.

In the documentary, director Vanessa Gould interviews the most prominent origami artists in the world. These include:

Michael LaFosse

Michael LaFosse has been creating origami fine art from his handmade papers since 1974. With Richard Alexander, he founded the Origamido Studio, located for 12 years in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Both biologists, they specialize in natural history art and have collaborated with other origami designers and fine artists to produce or contribute to major exhibits of origami fine art around the world.

Visit his website at: http://www.origamido.com/

Eric Joisel

Eric Joisel is a Paris based origami artist. You can find his amazing achievements here: http://www.ericjoisel.com/eric_.html

Dr. Tom Hull

Dr. Thomas Hull has a Ph.D. in Mathematics. He specializes in using math for origami. You can find out more about Dr. Hull here: http://mars.wnec.edu/~thull/

Akira Yoshizawa

He was considered to be the grandmaster of origami. He is credited with raising origami from a craft to a living art. According to his own estimation made in 1989, he created more than 50,000 models, of which only a few hundred designs were diagrammed in his 18 books. Yoshizawa acted as an international cultural ambassador for Japan throughout his career. In 1983, Japanese emperor Hirohito named him to the Order of the Rising Sun, one of highest honors that can be given to a Japanese citizen.

Here’s the Wikipedia article about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Yoshizawa

Paul Jackson

In his own words:

My journey with origami began as a child, and I have been a professional origami artist since 1982.

I divide my time between the free application of traditional paper folding (origami) techniques in the media, design and education, and the creative exposition of these techniques in the context of a Fine Art practice.

Here’s a link to his website: http://www.origami-artist.com/index.htm

Chris Palmer

According to his online resume:

Studied and developed paper folding techniques of master instructor Shuzo Fujimoto, Sasayama-Cho,
Japan, developed an original portfolio of crease patterns

He studied and developed paper folding techniques of master instructor Shuzo Fujimoto in Sasayama-Cho Japan in 1993 where he developed his original portfolio of crease patterns. His resume can be found here:

http://paperairplaneshq.com/blog/wp-admin/post-new.php

Erik Demaine

If you really want to get technical with origami creation, Mr. Demaine is the guy to go to. Here’s his online resume:

http://erikdemaine.org/cv.pdf

Toda Aims To Break His Own Paper Airplane Record

January 20th, 2010
Takua Toda - Paper Airplane Virtuoso

Takua Toda - Paper Airplane Virtuoso

In the world of paper airplanes, much like in other competitive sports, a few seconds could mean the difference between breaking world records and failure. Twenty seconds in the air is first class, 25 seconds or better is world record material and 30 seconds is the goal of the best paper airplane virtuoso in the world.

Paper Airplane World Record

Takua Toda holds the record for longest time aloft at 27.9 seconds. And like any great athlete, Toda seeks to break his own record. His latest attempt fell short at 26.1 seconds. Although that number is still very impressive.

Toda was quoted as saying that he felt a lot of pressure. He had to consider everything – the crowd, air moisture, even the temperature.

Toda heads the Japan Origami Airplane Association and is as engineer by profession.  He’s the best in the world at what he does: make long flying paper airplanes.

Tips From Toda

Toda really considers throwing paper airplanes a sport. He says that throwing is a very delicate technique. According to Toda, the best way to throw a world record paper airplane is to aim upwards instead of straight ahead.

He will break the 30-second barrier. That’s a promise from Toda.

Science Project Reveals Which Types Of Paper Airplanes Fly The Farthest

January 19th, 2010

Homer Junior High School, Homer, NY

Ever wondered what makes paper airplanes fly far? The wingspan plays an important role in long distance flight.

Max Czerwonka, eight grader, tested this theory using 10 different kinds of paper airplanes, a launch pad and a fan. Czerwonka’s “Up, Up and Away” project confirmed the theory.

The paper airplane with the widest wingspan AND surface area flew farthest. Now that’s something to think about when designing your own paper airplanes.

If you want a long distance paper airplane, simply make the wings wider and you should see results.

The rest of the story can be found on Homer Horizon.

Students Sell Paper Airplanes To Help Haiti Quake Victims

January 19th, 2010

Students of Jean Vanier high school and the community are doing what they can to raise funds and relief items to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti. One of their interesting ideas to come up with funds is to sell paper airplanes.

The paper airplanes cost $1 each and represents 1 kilometer. They dub the fund raiser “The Flight Project”. Their goal is to sell enough paper airplanes to cover the distance between Collingwood and Haiti.

Now who would have thought that paper airplanes can play a role in relief efforts? You can read the rest of the story by visiting this link.

Can You Make Money With Paper Airplanes?

January 18th, 2010

Apparently, you can make money with paper airplanes. Take Samantha Pfannes for example, 8 years old. She makes paper airplanes and sells them to her classmates. She sells them for $1, $2 or even $10.

This is part of a project started by 3rd grade teacher Jill Thomasson. She’s effectively teaching her students about leadership, math, government and team work.

You can read the rest of the story here.