Origami, the Ancient Art Form Solving Modern Problems | Miles Wu | TED (Level 1)

A teenager in New York City loves origami, the art of paper folding. She started folding when she was young, making ornaments and toys. During the pandemic, she sent paper birds to older people to cheer them up. Later, she folded 300 birds and sold them to raise money for people and birds in need. Recently, she studied a special fold called Miura-ori. This fold was invented for space satellites. She tested many Miura-ori patterns at home. The best pattern could hold a lot of weight but was very light. One version held 10,000 times its own weight. Her project won first prize in a national science competition. She wants to use this design to build stronger emergency shelters. She shows that playing with paper can lead to big discoveries.