Miles Wu has enjoyed making origami art, including birds and insects, for years. But after reading about disasters like last year’s Los Angeles wildfires, he was inspired to study how the Japanese art of paper folding could help people in need.
Miles began testing the strength of a fold known as Miura-ori (mee-oo-rah-o-ree). The zigzag fold is surprisingly strong, and it easily expands and collapses into a small shape. Miles hopes a version of the fold might one day be used to create pop-up shelters that could easily be transported to disaster sites.
Last October, Miles won a $25,000 prize from the Society for Science at a national competition for middle school students. The 14-year-old from New York City recently spoke with Scholastic News about his award-winning project.