Cardboard sculptures... for your desk :)

The following ideas can be made in cardboard DIY, in no time flat!

1- cardboard chair

[link]

Flexible cardboard packaging

Ingenious Cardboard Packaging Folds to Fit Parcels of Any Shape [source]

What can you do with it?

The way in which this cardboard can be molded suggests using it to create organic-looking shapes.

Print the pattern found here on thick paper, and you can start folding your snake or bean shaped puppet.

Walking paper + spinning head robot

A robot made with paper and rubber bands.



This robot is perhaps a bit complex to build ... but the next one is simpler and still moves using rubber bands:

Elly the Elephant – Kinetic Creatures

Terrific concept: cardboard animals that can move!

For more info read here.

How to build a lego slide puzzle

More of this kind of puzzles:

• online sliding puzzles http://mypuzzle.org/sliding/
• The Complexity of Sliding-Block Puzzles and Plank Puzzles    http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/bob/sliding-blocks.pdf
• How to Make a Slide Puzzle Out of Cardboard http://www.ehow.com/how_12087620_make-slide-puzzle-out-cardboard.html
• SLIDING BLOCK PUZZLES - An Introduction  http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/resources/puzzles/slideblk/sbint.htm
• online game  http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/slidingblock/slidingblock.html

Paper-tubes robots... and more

A PIPEROID is a fantastical cut-fold-connect, paper robot created by Japanese toy designer Takashi Tsunoda. For anime-loving, DIY-experienced kids, it gets no better than this. Full of mischief, each robotic duo comes as a rolled sheet of colorful paper that needs to be crafted in order to be brought to life as a PIPEROID! [source]

Created by Takashi Tsunoda, the Japanese toy designer behind PIPEROID paper robots, Monster Cubes offer a similar paper-folding DIY experience. You’ll get a perforated sheet of paper that can be punched out and folded into monster – no tape, glue or scissors required. You can even put little items or notes in the monster’s hands or mouth. [source]

With Studio Ditte’s Paper Robots you can build six colorful robots. All you need is scissors, a ruler and glue – no tech skills required! [source]

Cool Math website

Origo Education [source]
" ORIGO was established in 1997 when co-founders James Burnettand Dr Calvin Irons identified the need to meet a growing demand for professional development in mathematics. With the vision of making a positive contribution to children's education, James and Cal began writing and producing mathematics resources from a makeshift office in James' home. Today, ORIGO provides a complete education solution to its customers by combining an innovative range of mathematics products with quality professional learning services. "
Some details here: http://www.origoeducation.com/developing-essential-strategies-for-computation/

So perhaps an abacus and marbles could be useful as tangibles, and/or in computer applications...

And this article is also very interesting: Math made easy - Thinking Strategies in Primary Mathematics
http://www.origoeducation.com/assets/pdf/MathsMadeEasyCM.pdf
There are quite a few tangible tricks in this article that could be cool to play with, perhaps using LEGO (?)