A light-weight radiation protection panel comprising: a radiation protection layer comprising a plurality of individual adjacent repeated units of shielding material, the individual units of shielding material having a geometrical shape, each said individual unit of shielding material having radiation attenuating characteristics; wherein a subset of the plurality of individual units of shielding material has a variance of at least one of the radiation attenuating characteristics; and two flexible materials connecting the plurality of individual units of shielding material; characterized in that: the plurality of individual units of shielding material consists of a plurality of rigid poles which are attached at one end to one of the two flexible materials and at the other end to another of the two flexible materials, and wherein the rigid poles are configured such that they can slide against each other; wherein a differing length between rigid poles of the plurality of rigid poles varies a radiation attenuation across a surface of the radiation protection layer; and wherein the light-weight radiation protection panel has a flexibility greater than that of an individual unit of shielding material due to the flexible materials and the ability of the rigid poles to slide against each other. a radiation protection layer comprising a plurality of individual adjacent repeated units of shielding material, the individual units of shielding material having a geometrical shape, each said individual unit of shielding material having radiation attenuating characteristics; wherein a subset of the plurality of individual units of shielding material has a variance of at least one of the radiation attenuating characteristics; and two flexible materials connecting the plurality of individual units of shielding material; each said individual unit of shielding material having radiation attenuating characteristics; wherein a subset of the plurality of individual units of shielding material has a variance of at least one of the radiation attenuating characteristics; and two flexible materials connecting the plurality of individual units of shielding material; characterized in that: the plurality of individual units of shielding material consists of a plurality of rigid poles which are attached at one end to one of the two flexible materials and at the other end to another of the two flexible materials, and wherein the rigid poles are configured such that they can slide against each other; wherein a differing length between rigid poles of the plurality of rigid poles varies a radiation attenuation across a surface of the radiation protection layer; and wherein the light-weight radiation protection panel has a flexibility greater than that of an individual unit of shielding material due to the flexible materials and the ability of the rigid poles to slide against each other. the plurality of individual units of shielding material consists of a plurality of rigid poles which are attached at one end to one of the two flexible materials and at the other end to another of the two flexible materials, and wherein the rigid poles are configured such that they can slide against each other; wherein a differing length between rigid poles of the plurality of rigid poles varies a radiation attenuation across a surface of the radiation protection layer; and wherein the light-weight radiation protection panel has a flexibility greater than that of an individual unit of shielding material due to the flexible materials and the ability of the rigid poles to slide against each other.