How to Make a Ben Franklin Origami Butterfly
Prepared by Youth Services, Franklin Township Public Library for Franklin Day
Franklin Township was incorporated in 1798 and named after Benjamin Franklin. Since Ben Franklin appears on the $100 bill and a butterfly is part of the Library’s logo, we put together kits to make an origami butterfly using $100 bills – fake ones, of course! – for Franklin Day. The event has been canceled but you may still pick up one of the kits at the Children’s Desk in the Main Library on DeMott Lane while supplies last. We found the instructions on homemade-gifts-made-easy.com, so visit that site to learn more folds that you can do using money.
Each kit contains two prop money bills, a piece of pipe cleaner, instructions, and a colonial soldier paper doll to color and cut out. Or, you can use the directions below with any play money you have on hand – or even with real money, if you are giving a gift.
$100 Origami Butterfly
What you need:
• 2 $100 prop money bills with Ben Franklin’s face on them (or just use dollar bills or other play money)
• Small chenille stem (pipe cleaner) or ribbon
Step 1 : Fold a bill in half lengthwise, then unfold again.
Step 2 : Fold the corners in to meet the center line.
Step 3 : Fold the bill back and forth like an accordion, until it looks like this.
The precise number of folds doesn’t matter.
Step 4 : Place your second bill below the first, and fold in the corners along the dotted lines shown here. The lines are placed so that widths of the top and bottom bills are the same at the place where they adjoin.
Step 5 : Accordion-fold the bottom bill until it looks like this. As in step 3, the precise number of folds doesn’t matter.
Step 6 : Place the two bills next to each other like this.
Step 7 : Use a chenille stem (pipe cleaner) or ribbon to attach the two notes together and form ‘antennae’.
Can you see Ben Franklin’s face on your butterfly’s wings?
To learn some other origami money folds, visit homemade-gifts-made-easy.com and have fun!
