Origami Sampan
This origami sampan is actually an easy origami boat that I used to fold as a kid. A sampan, by the way, is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat.
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I don't remember how or when I learned to fold this but I do remember that when it rains, we'd be busy making boats to float in the water!
Origami Sampan
Start off with a piece of origami paper:
Fold it in half like below:
Open up the paper and you should have a crease in the center:
Now, fold up each side to meet the crease in the center:
Now fold the bottom left hand corner to meet the center like below:
And do the same for the other 3 corners:
Now, fold the bottom left side again to meet the center line:
Repeat the fold for the other 3 sides (the sides will overlap):
Fold the bottom tip to meet the center like below:
Now fold the top tip to meet the center:
Now here comes the "hardest" part of this origami. But once you learn how to do it, it's not hard at all!
Open up the middle like so:
and turn over the sides:
Flip it over, shape the sides and flatten the bottom and you've got yourself an origami sampan or boat!
Thanks to reader Allison from Texas for her creative submission - " sorry it's a little blurry, but if u look closely, u can c a mermaid's tail and the man is pointing 2 it "
Thanks to reader Tanner from Cary for this photo:
