Did you know that Endangered Species Day just passed? Now you do! And raising awareness of endangered wildlife is a year-long mission, so don’t stop just because the ‘day’ has passed. The Origami Endangered Animals kit of paper models of threatened wildlife is the perfect accompaniment for the event (as well as any occasion). With plenty of cute models for various levels of expertise, this kit will work well for every group.
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Many thanks to Tuttle Publishing who sent the children an Endangered Animals kit to try out and review. They’ve been having fun taking a brain break from school work to fold a few animals to show off to you. One really cool and useful thing about this kit is that inside the front cover of the book is a link where you can watch videos on how to fold all of these animals. My children have found them very useful when they get stuck on a particular fold
The Origami Endangered Animals Kit Contains
- Full-colour instruction booklet that includes 12 models
- 68 Double-sided folding papers
- a link to folding demonstration videos
As with all Tuttle Publishing books and activities, they always add a little extra, and in this kit, children (and adults) can learn more about each of the species that they are folding. This makes the projects more interesting, in my opinion, and it’s easier to include them as a part of school (math, engineering, ecology, science, etc.) so the kids are learning and earning some credit, even if they don’t realise it! They think they’re just having fun, while we know that they’re busy engaging their brains and fine motor skills at the same time (win-win)!
Endangered Animals Projects
This is a great time to mention that Michael G. LaFosse, who created these folded animals, is a biologist by trade, and has taken his love of biology and transformed it into origami, with his projects being shown in exhibitions, and he has many published origami books, kits, and videos.
There are directions for 12 models included in this kit. As you can see Kallista began with a cute black and white panda while Tristan was working on a rocket from the Air and Space Origami kit (you can see our review of that kit here).
Here’s the final product. The panda is one of the easier models in the kit. You could draw some eyes, or glue on some googly eyes for extra effect.
Of course, I had to have some fun, too, and I thought this tiger looked neat. It’s not so difficult, and definitely has some character. When you’re done, the model is curved down a bit (convex – I told you there was some science involved – physics class here), which makes it look more 3D. Unfortunately, this doesn’t show up well in photos.
Kallista made an elephant, as it went along with a craft she was working on for geography. The paper for this project really shows the wrinkles and skin of an elephant quite well, don’t you think?
Tristan was feeling a little caged in one rainy day, and folded this gorilla, that stands on its own. This one was a little challenging for him, but he persevered and won the battle, with a beautiful gorilla.
The kids talked as the folded, thinking back to their trip to Belfast Zoo a couple of years ago.
Tristan also made this whale, that’s also been included in a fun window display project we created this week (you can see it on our instagram feed along with the endangered turtle and many other fun origami projects).
This kit would be a great one to take along while camping, or for a classroom or group to do together and then build a gorgeous diorama.
If you’re interested in purchasing the Origami Endangered Animals kit, it’s available through:
- Tuttle Publishing
- Amazon
- Great bookstores near you
If you’d like to know more or would like to follow Tuttle Publishing, you can connect with them through their website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (and you can see our other Tuttle reviews here).
