2026-04-01

The Paper Zoo

Problem illustration

Calvin Nicholls creates incredible sculptures of animals using nothing but white paper! Instead of drawing with a pencil, he "draws" with a sharp scalpel, cutting out thousands of tiny pieces of paper to look like fur and feathers. Some of his artworks are so detailed that they take him two whole years to finish! When you look at his paper bears and owls, they look so real you might expect them to jump right off the page. Learn more!

Wee Ones

Calvin starts by cutting out shapes. If you take a square piece of paper and cut it in half from one corner to the opposite corner, what shape do you have now?

Little Kids

Calvin bought a special sheet of white paper for 3 dimes. If each dime is worth 10 cents, how many cents did the paper cost? Let's count by 10s!

Big Kids

Each tiny piece of paper is very thin. If one piece is 0.5 millimetres thick and another piece is 0.2 millimetres thick, how thick are the two pieces when they are glued together?

The Sky's the Limit

Calvin uses a sharp blade to carve fine details. If he holds his knife halfway between flat on the paper (0 degrees) and straight up like a square corner (90 degrees), what is the angle of his knife in degrees?