Origami.
What is it? Is it a art? Is it a hobby? Is it a science? Well, it's kind of all of those, you know, all the best arts are art, but they have science behind them.
For instance, a few 100 years ago, painters needed to know science in order to paint their paintings, they needed to know about the colors and how colors mixed.
And that is actually pretty scientific.
Well, with Origami today, you can learn the basics without knowing much.
Science, just fold the paper and make a nice shape, copy the pattern.
But the most advanced artists are using computers to help them design new Origami and the design, the picture, the shape that comes out.
That's the art.
On the other hand, there's more science involved, I guess a couple of years ago, some scientists who are sending things into space, started looking at Origami and thought, wow, this folding paper could be used to make instruments that we can send into space and they learned how to fold things so that it becomes smaller.
Ok.
Now they use these Origami folding techniques to fold up for instance, a solar panel and it becomes very small inside the space ship.
But when it goes out into space, it becomes really, really big.
It unfolds beautifully.
Origami has been used for other scientific purposes too.
They can make things fold but not use paper.
They can use other materials and those materials are a little bit elastic.
And so you get a moving part and the folding and the moving can create really, really great machines for us that don't break easily.
On the other hand, most people just use Origami as a hobby and they make things at home.
And here in Japan, every once in a while, somebody gives me Origami just as a gift.
I think it's beautiful.
It adds a little bit to our lives and brings some art into our environment.