The Origami Forum

Hello,

Probably back in May, I went to my local parks and rec department and tried to host an origami club. It didn't work. The primary reason was my fault, simply that I did not plan it right.

My original goal in starting a club was to meet others who were interested in origami. I wasn't going to close the club to kids, but I was wanting to meet adults who wanted to meet and contribute ideas about folding. I wanted to open the meetings with a few words about origami. Someone would talk about a website they'd discovered or a new book they'd found, or show off a model they were particularly proud of. We would then go into folding, with maybe a member other than myself teaching how to make a figure. Even though I wanted members to volunteer, I always had a presentation prepared just in case.

It took a while, but two ten-year-old boys and their mothers started showing up. We had a few meetings, which turned out to be me teaching how to make figures. Not exactly what I wanted, but at least I was spreading an interest in origami. Everyone seemed bored with the talk about origami, so that soon subsided. Once I was pretty certain they were going to be regulars, I got their e-mail addresses and started sending pictures of the figures we'd be making. I later got an email from a mother who asked if this club was something a six-year-old could do. Desperate to make the club successful, I agreed that I would first make a simple figure that a six-year-old could make, and then a more complex model for the older members. The condition would be that she would attend the meeting with her child and participate as well. I taught the simple form and then the more complicated one. The little girl would attempt the more complicated project and sometimes wind up with little more than a crumpled ball of paper. Even so, she was just as proud of it as if it were the best one. With this, I thought that all small kids would have similar attitudes, and if they failed, nothing lost. It didn't work out that way. One little boy who started coming cried when his turtle didn't turn out right. Also, I realized that, with the younger kids coming, the older kids would not be able to work up to more complicated models.

How I plan to begin again is to have two meetings. One for younger children and people who are in and out. This will serve as an introduction to origami. The second will be for the more advanced folders, or at least folders who can make a bird base simply from being told to make a bird base. In the beginning, the second meeting will be open to anyone with an interest in origami, but after a few meetings, I'll have to close it, only accepting new members who qualify. I'll have to give some thought to exactly what those qualifications will be.

I believe I've thoroughly thought this out, however, I thought that I'd thought it out before. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations, or any input on anything I've mentioned? Thanks in advance.

Your story sounds a lot like one in my own city. Sadly we do not have organisers as thoughtful as you. Every single meeting we would fold something which i can probably do with one hand(exagerating a bit)
According to them we should fold things everyone can make. Only once in 3 whole years was there a complex model taught (Quyet's Swan). Your plan sounds good to me. I wish we had it here as well.

This is a great topic. Getting any kind of group started is hard. I can relate to your goals. I know OrigamiUSA did a survey about this recently. I just joined a group at a local library -- I don't know its history well but it seems that the dedication of a very experienced leader and support of the library has kept it going. I have my own thoughts about what I would like to get out of the group, and also share your vision of creating an opportunity to help younger people develop their interest and skills.
I wonder if there are any community development specialists at the library or part of a library system. They may already have demographics and user surveys, and perhaps training to volunteer teachers.

The library might want to put together a display of origami books with some models. How much circulation do the books enjoy? If circulation is good, maybe you could advertise the workshops when people check out the books (maybe a few free pieces of paper?). Maybe the library does outreach to promote library membership. School art teachers would be a natural referral source -- as would "Child Life" specialists associated with a Children's hospital. Both groups would certainly have great ideas on how to organize activities for younger kids. Teachers may be eager to pick up a few skills they can use with their kids.

Perhaps you could approach this in a different way -- hook up with an existing group, and generate excitement about a community project (e.g. 1000 crane project, holiday tree decoration). This will not only establish a good reputation but also help you find the few possible enthusiasts among the people that have a more casual interest. I can see two opposite paths to bring people in. First, approaching origami as one of many craft activities. Holiday paper wrapping, ribbon making, origami? It may turn out that you have to prime the pump a little to get a more regular group going. Second, appealing to a natural audience for Origami -- math and science geeks. There may even be sources of mini=grants to promote S.T.E.M. education (in USA, Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Face it. A lot of us interested in origami have an affinity to structure, design, sequences, transformation, precision, and sustained effort to achieve mastery. Many of these kids are already interested in the Library, and maybe you can bring in some of the Lego and Knex builders into the origami fold (pun intended).

Paper airplanes, kites, boats, action models, easy animals -- might all be ways to get kids interested. I suspect that adults would like to be able to make things for decoration, or that they can give as gifts. This might mean accepting decorations and embellishments and even cutting. I don't know what the ratio really is, but at best one in five people will want to continue to explore origami as a focus. My guess is that that group will declare themselves in some way -- they have some books, asked about where to buy paper, have a kit of some kind.

So do you need to do outreach to 10,000 people to find 100 people who might have a general interest in an origami-like activity, 20 of which who might try a class, and 1 or 2 per group who wants to advance? What gets them there, what keeps them there, and what causes them to recruit others?

Some other random thoughts -- is there any way to tie this to a community service requirement (e.g. by a school), or something like a merit badge for a scouting group, or outreach from a university program? Is the a Maker Space or Hacker Space that would be interested? Is there a science museum or children's museum? Does the library participate in any other community networks?

Thanks for all the input. I am currently working on this. Also, I have some people who are saying they'll come, but we all know how that is.

I've sent out some emails to the art teachers in the area. So far, no reply. I'm also working on a website and some materials for people to download.

At any rate, thanks for the input.