1000 Cranes! An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true.

The Thousand Origami Cranes has become a symbol of world peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who tried to stave off her death from leukemia as a result of radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II by making one thousand origami cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed and buried them all with her.

On Day 4, we teach the students how to make paper cranes!

Using a lightweight paper (we cut copy paper into 4"x 4" squares), cut the paper so that it is a square.

Follow the directions on how to fold the paper to make a crane.

Watch a 3D Movie on how to make a paper crane

When the cranes are completed, string them together in groups of 20 and find a place to hang them!