Shaunna Smith, The Paper Engineering Club at Spring Woods Middle School, Fall 2010

Origami Frog Jumping Contest

This is a sample lesson that I used with my afterschool group to get them thinking about paper engineering
concepts: structural integrity of materials, folding techniques, designing for purpose, etc… The students really
liked the activity and I look forward to trying to come up with some others like it.
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Before you begin, choose one of the following instructional links for your design plan:

Basic Folding Instructions Link: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/origami/frog/

Complex Folding Instructions Link: http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-frog.html

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1. Create: Using the chosen origami instructions (basic or complex choices above), make the frog out of at least
2 different paper materials: cardstock, construction paper, notebook/copy paper, origami paper, etc…
2. Discuss: Compare and contrast the structural integrity of the materials.
a. Which material was easiest to fold? Why?
b. Which material held its shape/folds the best? Why?
3. Challenge: Height and Distance Contest
a. Set up one ruler/yard stick on the floor to measure the distance and one ruler/yard stick on the wall
to measure the height of each hop.
b. Height Contest
i. Hypothesize: Which frog do you think will jump the highest. Why?
ii. Results of contest: Which frog jumps the highest?
iii. Inquiry:
1. Why? What material was used? How does craftsmanship play a role?
2. What other factors contribute to the success?
iv. Experiment:
1. What changes could you make to the design that would make the frog jump higher?
c. Distance Contest
i. Hypothesize: Which frog do you think will jump the furthest. Why?
ii. Results of contest: Which frog jumps the furthest?
iii. Inquiry:
1. Why? What material was used? How does craftsmanship play a role?
2. What other factors contribute to the success?
iv. Experiment:
1. What changes could you make to the design that would make the frog jump
further?