Paper craft · Challenge · about 60 minutes
Geodesic Paper Dome
Uses scissors · Uses glue · Adult help suggested
- Card stock printed with sheet 1 (pieces 1 to 4), 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 in (Letter) or A4)
- Card stock printed with sheet 2 (piece 5), 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 in (Letter) or A4)
- Blunt-tip scissors
- Glue stick
- Ruler (to check the scale bar and to help crease)
For the grown-up: Help with cutting the inside corners between tabs, and with holding the last pieces while the glue sets inside the dome.
Safety: Use blunt-tip scissors and cut away from your fingers.
Blue dashes: valley fold (toward you). Pink dash-dot: mountain fold (away from you). Thick line with scissors: cut. Yellow: glue.
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Start. Print both sheets at 100% (Actual size) on card stock. Check that each 5 cm bar measures 5 cm. Every piece is the same shape.
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1. Cut: Cut out the five pieces along the solid outlines. Keep every tab, and cut slowly into the inside corners.
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2. Fold and unfold: Fold along every dashed line, bending the paper away from you so the colors stay outside. Unfold gently: the folds are shallow.
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3. Glue: Rub glue on the four tabs of piece 1. Press each tab under the matching edge of piece 2, starting at the top point.
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4. Put together: Glue the tabs of piece 2 under piece 3 the same way. The pieces begin to curve into a dome.
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5. Put together: Add piece 4: glue the tabs of piece 3 under its edges.
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6. Put together: Add piece 5: glue the tabs of piece 4 under its edges. All five top points now meet.
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7. Glue: Close the dome: rub glue on the tabs of piece 5 and press them under the edges of piece 1, from the top down.
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8. Push: Reach inside and press each tab against the piece above it for a minute while the glue sets.
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9. Check: Stand the dome on its ten bottom edges. Gently push out any flat spots so it is round.
If something goes wrong
- A tab does not line up with its edge. Check the 5 cm bar: if it is not 5 cm, print again at 100% (Actual size). The tab labeled "to 3" goes under piece 3.
- The dome is flat or lopsided. Glue every tab along its full length, and check that each fold bends away from the colored side.
- The last piece will not close. Start at the top point and glue one tab at a time, holding each one before the next.
- There is a small hole at the top. Press the five points together from inside and hold them; a small piece of tape inside fixes it.