Everyone has something to teach

The wonderful thing about Maker Faire is the exchange of people's passion and knowledge is not limited to the "registered" Makers. I enjoyed hearing about book and paper projects that people had made or were interested in making. One young man even spent the time to fold me an origami flasher that he had learned to make:

And it wasn't a simple three or four fold structure, either:

This is how it looks closed (and if you had a few beers, sorry for the fuzzy quality).

This is what it looks like opened. The best part of this structure is watching it unfurl as you open and close it. You'll have to trust me on that.

So,  of course, I had to do an internet search and find out more about these fun structures. I was able to find the folding pattern for the one the generous young man did for me (note to self: write down people's names because you know you're going to forget). Find the pattern here!  (Don't be afraid that the URL is "...barf.cc..", it's a legit site. It stands for Bay Area Rapid Folders. As a matter of fact, check out the whole web site, there's lots of great structures the members have kindly made public.)

Jeremey Shafer is the designer of the structure and he magnanimously shares many instructional videos on his YouTube site. He also has written a couple books (information on his website). His designs all look engaging and entertaining even though some look quite time consuming. Go take a look and try some!

Thank you again young man and mom (she was really the instigator) from Illinois who shared their enthusiasm and knowledge and sparked my curiosity. (I'm going to try to incorporate it into a book structure somehow.) I hope this example demonstrates that we all have skills and information to share and should do so with abandon. It will not only enrich the other person but your self as well.