ESCONDIDO -- In the exhibit hall at the Mingei International Museum's downtown satellite location, a 4.5-foot-tall origami heron made from a single piece of expertly folded paper greets visitors as they enter.

Behind it, a giant chessboard shows a game in play with large pieces made of paper folded into the form of an intricate knight's helmet, a king's crown or other hats and origami shapes representing chess pieces.

The items are just a few of dozens of the creations on display in "Paper Transformed," the newest exhibit at the museum at 155 W. Grand Ave. The exhibit runs through July 21 and also includes several Saturday events at which people can make their own paper art or see it demonstrated by artists.

Museum curator V'Ann Cornelius said Thursday that the exhibit shows two similar yet different paper art forms.

"It's sort of paralleling the whimsy of one paper form with the precision of the other technique," Cornelius said.

Origami figures -- everything from the large heron to smaller dinosaurs, an octopus and even a Japanese macaque -- made by 25 artists take up most of the first level of the exhibit hall.

The museum's second floor is filled with about 50 intricately designed hats made from brown paper bags by a Hawaii artist known only as Moses.

Director Rob Sidner said the hats are unique.

"You can't really call them sculpture, and yet they are sculpture," Sidner said. "You could almost call them abstract art."

When the Mingei's main museum site in Balboa Park had a similar paper art exhibit in 2003, the dates of the exhibit had to be extended because of the crowds that showed up, Cornelius said.

She said origami appeals to many people because it is an art based only on folding paper, which is something anyone can do.

"It seems like people believe it is within their reach," Cornelius said. … "It's sort of an innocent kind of (art) form, and there's only like six or seven basic steps."

On Saturday, the museum will have two workshops, one from 10 a.m. to noon and another from 1 to 4 p.m., at which people can learn some of the basic origami techniques.

Cornelius, an origami artist, said finding a new form in a piece of paper is a process of trial and error, and using imagination.

"It all depends on what your eye sees, what your history is that lets you imagine what it could be," she said.

On Thursday afternoon, museum visitor Darcy Gray of Valley Center tried to fold a piece paper to make a purple origami heart at a station where visitors can try it out for themselves.

She was at the museum for her American studies class at Palomar College, but discovered an art form she hadn't really experienced before, she said.

"I think it's really creative," Gray said. "The things you can do with paper is amazing."

- Contact staff writer Paul Eakins at (760) 740-5420 or peakins@nctimes.com.

Origami at the Mingei

- Saturday -- Open Folding Day, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Learn simple origami forms with members of Origami San Diego. Free with museum admission.

- April 14 -- Paper folding demonstration with origami master Robert Lang, who will fold a 9-foot-long piece of paper into a design, 9 a.m. to noon. Free with museum admission.

- April 14 -- "From Flapping Birds to Space Telescopes: The Modern Art of Origami," presented by Robert Lang. $25 for museum members and $35 for others.

- May 5 -- Workshop with Robert Lang on exploring connections between origami and science, mathematics and technology, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. $65 for members and $75 for others.

- May 12 -- Paper bag hat-making workshop with V'Ann Cornelius, museum curator, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free with museum admission.

The museum is at 155 W. Grand Avenue in Escondido and is open 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call (760) 735-3355.