With the fall 2025 semester winding down, Juice House’s Origami Blend students have been diligently wrapping up their complex, end-of-semester project: creating a modular bicycle entirely out of paper. Several students participated by folding different sections of the bicycle using a variety of colors before assembling them to create the final product.
Despite its technical difficulty, creating modular pieces is nothing out of the ordinary for the group, having done similar projects in the past, such as Kusudama balls. Student leader for Origami Blend, Noah James, shared what working on the group project has meant.
“It brought the group closer together,” said James, a pre-medical biology major at the University of Toledo. “It was something that helped with their spatial reasoning, because not only were they able to fold a fairly complicated modular piece, but they were also able to assemble it together.”
Having been in Origami Blend since its inception in Spring 2024, James also shared how the conversations with other members are the thing he looks forward to the most when attending weekly meetings.
“We have incredible conversations about our classes, about life, about anything going on around campus,” said James. “They’re very warm and heartfelt, and I really enjoy having the Origami Blend sprout a positive environment where people can feel included and accepted, and one where they can feel at home.”
The blend’s mentor, Dr. Zhiwei Chen, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, also observed this dynamic among students.
“[W]hen we actually come together, it’s also [a] very family-oriented time. Students [find it] easy to have conversations,” said Chen.
While origami may be commonly seen as a relaxing past-time or fun hobby, it also holds relevance to students’ academics and career prospects. Chen noted how origami principles are being incorporated into technology in fields like material science and biomedical materials, but it can also train students in other surprising ways.
“[When you are] folding the paper, it is very relaxing. But, if you are trying to complete something, it does take a lot of trial and error [to get it] very precisely,” said Chen. “It demands a lot of endurance and focus, which we think is a very important quality nowadays for young people to have.”
Looking ahead to next semester, James is already planning new models to lead the group through and is excited to see the blend grow.
“The last thing that we’d want is for someone to think that they can’t do origami,” said James. “Everybody can do origami. It’s just a matter of perseverance and practice.”
Interested in joining Juice House’s Origami Blend? Join our GroupMe here.
