Origami is the ancient Japanese art of folding paper to construct a variety of designs. Designs range from the simple to the highly intricate. Origami creations frequently resemble birds, flowers, animals and other aspects of the surrounding world, including volcanoes. An origami volcano involves the simple construction of a semi-diamond shape with space beneath, like a puppet, to facilitate manoeuvring. A volcanic eruption can be simulated with this origami volcano by shimmying small bits of paper up through the top opening.

Lay the paper on a flat surface. Fold the paper from right to left. Match right hand corners to the corresponding corners on the left. With one hand, hold the touching corners together to keep the page straight. Flatten the bend of the paper by running your fingers from the top corner to cross the bend and then down the length of the bend. This is the first fold. Run your thumbnail down the length of the fold again to ensure that the crease is clean.

  • Origami is the ancient Japanese art of folding paper to construct a variety of designs.
  • Flatten the bend of the paper by running your fingers from the top corner to cross the bend and then down the length of the bend.

Open the page so that the crease from the first fold is running up and down. Lay the paper on a flat surface. Fold the paper from top to bottom. Match top left and right corners to the corresponding corners on the bottom. With one hand, hold the touching edges together to keep the page straight. Flatten the bend of the paper by running your fingers from the bottom left corner to cross the bend and then across the length of the bend. This is the second fold. Run your thumbnail down the length of the second fold to ensure that the crease is clean.

  • Open the page so that the crease from the first fold is running up and down.

Open the page. The page should now reflect two evenly crossing creases dividing the page into four planes, or boxes. Because of the crossing folds in the page, subsequent folds will be isolated within each box.

Fold the page along fold two, creating two flaps. Hold one flap in hand. Bend one of the boxes inward between the flaps. As you do so, folds one and two should come together and touch. Crease the paper neatly, pressing against a table or flat surface, to define the fold. The result should look like half of an arrow.

  • The page should now reflect two evenly crossing creases dividing the page into four planes, or boxes.
  • Fold the page along fold two, creating two flaps.

Bend the "arrow point" inward just as in Step 4. The result should look like a perfect square.

Turn the square counterclockwise until the corners of the square are facing up and down. The square now resembles a diamond. Note that three corners of the diamond are a folded point, while the remaining corner is loose. Make sure the loose corner is pointing down.

  • Bend the "arrow point" inward just as in Step 4.
  • Turn the square counterclockwise until the corners of the square are facing up and down.

Flip up the loose corners to create a 1/2-inch tall triangle. Crease the paper neatly where it folds on these two corners.

Cut 1/2 inch off of the folded corner directly opposite the bottom where the little triangles have been created. Now the basic origami volcano shape has been created.

Slip the 1/2-inch cut-out inside of the volcano from underneath. Shimmy the triangle up the volcano, using your index finger, and out the top for an eruption.