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      Opening Day

      Origami Unfolded Opening Celebration

      Saturday, December 5, 2026 from 10:30 am—4 pm

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      Origami ship being attacked by a kraken

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      Main Atrium, Create Space Studios, and Morse Auditorium
      All activities are included with admission. Some workshops require same-day preregistration. 

      Join us as we celebrate the opening of Origami Unfolded! Watch origami artists show off their skills during demonstrations, touch folded pieces at our discovery cart and learn to fold your own paper creations.

      Origami Unfolded investigates recent developments in origami art and origami-inspired breakthroughs in science, engineering and math.

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      Origami Hermit Crab: Beginner
      10:30 am–11:30 am | Create Space Studio
      Included with admission; same-day preregistration required.

      This workshop with artist Beth Johnson guides you through creating a detailed origami shell and the clever little hermit crab that calls it home. The geometric shell is surprisingly simple to fold, yet incredibly satisfying, revealing beautiful hidden structures as you work.

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      Whale on Water: Low–Intermediate
      11:45 am–12:45 pm | Create Space Studio
      Included with admission; same-day preregistration required.

      This workshop with artist Beth Johnson combines classic origami traditions with a brief introduction to the more abstract techniques of wet folding and curved folding. Participants will fold a cute, stylized origami whale and an elegant wave base using wet and curved folding.

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       Hedgehog, Snail, and Peacock: Intermediate
      3–4 pm | Create Space Studio
      Included with admission; same-day preregistration required.

      This workshop introduces participants to a highly versatile, corrugated origami pattern. From a single geometric foundation, you will learn how to sculpt up to three animals.
       

      Origami Artist Demonstrations
      11 am–1 pm, 2–3 pm | Main Atrium
      Included with admission

      Watch origami in real time with master artists whose work is featured in the exhibition!


      Lecture and Q&A with Bernie Peyton: Why Origami?
      1–1:45 pm | Morse Auditorium
      Included with admission; same-day preregistration required. 

      The principles of folding have been fundamental to the design of spacecraft, fashion, medical devices, packaging and architecture. Master origami artist Bernie Peyton explores origami-inspired works and the sparks that led to their creation.

      About our collaborators

      Michael G. LaFosse
      Michael G. LaFosse

      Michael G. LaFosse, co-founder of Origamido Studio, has worked as an origami artist, papermaker, author and educator for over 40 years. He is recognized as one of the world’s top origami masters. Trained as a biologist, he finds his strongest inspiration in nature. His works have been exhibited in art and science museums worldwide and are part of the traveling exhibit Origami in the Garden. LaFosse served as an advisor for Origami Unfolded and has several featured artworks in the exhibition. His work also appeared in PEM’s beloved 2023-2024 exhibition Bats!.

      Richard Alexander
      Richard Alexander

      Richard Alexander, co-founder of Origamido Studio, majored in Systems Ecology at Cornell University. He is a master papermaker who shares best practices with origami artists and papermakers from all over the world. Alexander served as an advisor for Origami Unfolded and has made special papers for many of the pieces featured in the show. 

      Beth Johnson
      Beth Johnson

      Beth Johnson is an origami artist and designer from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is recognized for her clean, minimalist style and her penchant for morphing geometric patterns into lifelike animal sculptures. Her work earned her OrigamiUSA’s 2011 Florence Temko Award and has taken her all over the world as a guest of honor at international conventions. When she isn’t designing, exhibiting or diagramming new pieces, she loves sharing her craft through teaching workshops and volunteering in her local community. Right now, she’s hard at work on an upcoming book featuring instructions for her original designs. 

      Bernie Peyton
      Bernie Peyton

      Bernie Peyton left his career as a wildlife biologist in 1995 to work full time on his own origami creations and curate those of other artists in museum exhibitions in the United States and internationally. He enjoys making large-scale creations with curved surfaces, folded from the middle of the paper. His other passion is teaching origami to the patients and their families in a children’s hospital in Oakland, California. His second book is on the hats he designs for these patients. 

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