A single piece of paper can be transformed from a simple square into a butterfly, a heart, a box or even a crane.

That’s part of the beauty of the Japanese paper-folding art known as origami, and San Juan Islands Museum of Art will offer instructions in the basics of origami in a class designed especially for children ages eight and up.

The class, with Kristy Schmidt at the helm, is Feb. 16, 10:30 a.m. to noon, at San Juan Island Library, and its free (suggested donation is $5). A second class will be offered March 16, same time, same location, for those ready to test their paper folding abilities with more advance projects. The classes are sponsored by IMA as part of its presentation of “Kakehashi: A Bridge to Japan”, a 2-month long series of events. For more information or to reserve a space, contact IMA, 370-5050, www.sjima.org.