Make a Sonobe Shape

Don’t be surprised if you peek inside Mr. Buteau’s geometry class and find the students doing origami. They’re creating 3D geometrical shapes using Sonobe units: these are pieces of specially-folded paper that can be combined to create larger forms, from a cube (six sides) to an icosahedron (20 sides)....and more!

Interested in building your own 3D shape with Sonobe units? Follow the directions below to build your first Sunobe unit, and then keep reading

for more detailed instructions on how to assemble the units into 3D shapes. Good luck!

Sheets of origami paper, or regular 8.5x11” paper trimmed to 7.5” square. You will probably want at least 15 sheets so you can practice a few times. The smallest 3D structure you can build is a cube, which requires six Sunobe shapes.