Shadow Puppet Theater

You are never really alone. Everywhere you go, something follows you around all day, every day. Can you guess what that is? It’s your shadow! Kids are fascinated by their shadows, sparking a curiosity and drive to learn about the mysteries of shadows. In this fun and easy project, we are going to explore shadows and light by making a shadow puppet theater. This project is perfect for preschool through elementary ages.

The Science of Shadows and Light

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The History of Shadow Puppets

Shadow puppets have been around for centuries. It is believed by many that shadow puppetry originated in China over 2000 years ago during the Han Dynasty (140 – 87 BCE). The emperor Han Wudi was heartsick after the death of his young wife, so an advisor invented a way to help him connect with the late Empress through shadows. The history of Chinese Shadow Theatre is fascinating and a great read if you wish to learn more.

In the 1600s, people from European countries used these puppets to tell stories about legends and heroes.

In the 1800’s, shadow puppets were used to act out stories from literature.

From the 1900’s people began using shadow puppet theaters as a popular way of entertaining children.

Today, people of all ages enjoy making and creating shadow Puppet Theaters and exploring the science of shadows.

The Science of Light and Shadows

The infographic below explains how shadows are made and how a light source can change them.

Now that you understand how shadows are made let’s make our Shadow Puppet Theater!

Making a Shadow Puppet Theater

The Shadow Puppet Theater you will make today is based on the poem “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon”.

Video Tutorial

Learn how we made our Shadow Puppet theatre by watching our video tutorial. If you can’t see the video due to a firewall or adblockers, you can also find it (with closed captioning) on the STEAM Powered Family YouTube Channel.

Materials & Tools

Cardboard box – Approximately 49cm long, 29cm wide and 28cm tall
Empty cereal box or cake box
A piece of tracing paper big enough to cover the main window/screen
Small piece of Velcro (both sides, trim to fit)
Glue gun and glue sticks
Glue stick
Ruler
Pencil or marker
Box cutter
Scissors
4 X wooden skewers
Sticky or masking tape
Torch, lamp, or a cellphone with a light
Piece of transparent, colored cellophane paper (this piece is optional)
Sticky dots

The Templates

To do your project just like mine, I have made some templates you can download and use if you are a STEAM Powered Family Mailing List member.

Directions

Getting your pieces ready

Print out all the pages of the template. Pages 1,2,4 and 5 should be on cardstock if you have any. It makes it easier to trace.

Cut the box open with the box cutter on the join, ensuring the largest side is in the middle, and the two shorter sides are on each side.

You can get page 3 of the templates to see what needs to be cut out and where all the folds should be.

Important Note: The box you have might be a different size. We can easily problem solve this! You can change the measurements of all the cutouts for your box by slightly reducing or increasing the size of the main window and the windows on the sides. Open the box up and cut it to more or less the same size as mine.

Cutting the box and placing the “screen”

Cut the sides to the correct measurements, the two small flaps of the sides at the bottom, and the 3 “windows” using a ruler and the box cutter. The large window you cut out will be for your “screen”.

Students may need the help of an adult for this, as the box cutter is very sharp.

If your box is the same size as mine, cut a piece of tracing paper to fit the largest section of the box where your screen will be. My screen measured 29X47cm. If you don’t have tracing paper you can use baking (parchment) paper.

If your box is bigger or smaller than mine, make your “screen” 1cm smaller than the middle section of your box, all the way around.

Using the glue stick, put a lot of glue around the frame, ensure the inner edges have glue on, and stick the “screen” into place.

Gluing the box together

Lift your box so the two outer sides with the small flaps are at the bottom. These two flaps will be glued on top of the long flap. Fold the sides inward and mark the position of each of the small flaps with a pencil.

Allow the “screen” side of the box to lay flat on the table. Hold the small flap in place, and using the glue gun put some glue into the section you marked off.

Lift the box towards you and glue the flap to the glued side. Repeat this step for the opposite flap. Your box should be able to stand on its own now.

Using the glue gun, close the top flap and glue it to the sides of the box. We need to reinforce these two sides you just glued. (See the diagram below)

Get a piece of cereal box cardboard and cut two pieces that measure 14cm(width of the box) X 4cm with a line in the middle for scoring. If your box is smaller or bigger, measure the width of your box X 4cm.

Using the point of the scissors and a ruler, pressing hard, make the scoring line down the middle of each piece. This will enable the cardboard to fold easily. Fold each piece into an “L” shape.

Using the glue gun, apply glue to one side of the reinforcement and stick it to the top of the box.

Lift the other side of this piece, put glue onto it, and stick it down onto the side of the box.

Repeat this step to stick the other piece onto the opposite side of the box.

The puppet theater box is ready.

Making all the characters and the scenery

Cut out all the pieces of Pages 1 and 2 of the templates and trace them onto pieces of cereal boxes.
Ensure they are all facing the same way as shown on the template.

When you trace the pieces, the brown side should face upwards. You want to avoid seeing the printed side of the box through the screen!

Join the two pieces from Page 2 as shown, with a 1cm overlap. This will be the scenery for your puppet show.

Cut out all the characters you traced onto the cereal box. You will need to do this slowly, as some characters have tiny pieces that must be cut out. Students may need to ask an adult for help.

Creating Glowing Cat Eyes

If you have a piece of colored cellophane, turn the cat and fiddle over so you see the wrong side. Measure and cut a piece of cellophane to fit over the cat’s eyes, and using the glue stick, stick it in place over the eyes.

You are probably wondering why you are doing this. Well, because the cellophane is transparent, the light will be able to pass through it, giving the cat colored eyes.

Preparing the sticks for the puppets

Using the scissors, cut the pointed ends of all four skewers off.

Separate the two pieces of Velcro. Cut off four pieces measuring 2cm wide from the “hooked” side of the Velcro.

Fold a piece in half and put glue onto the Velcro’s inside with the glue gun.

Push the end of the skewer into the middle of the Velcro and fold the Velcro closed over the skewer. It should resemble a “T” shape.

Repeat these steps to complete all four skewers.

Completing the puppets

Turn the puppets upside down, cut off four pieces that measure 1cm wide from the other side of the Velcro, and glue them onto the middle of the cat and fiddle, the cow, the dog, and the dish and spoon.

In the video, I also put a piece of Velcro onto the moon, but being alone, I could not work the cow and the moon at the same time, so I used a sticky dot to hold the moon onto the back of the screen.

If more than one of you is handling the puppets, put the piece of Velcro onto the moon.

I used Velcro because you don’t need all the skewers, as they are easily removable and can be used on all the puppets. Plus the skewers can be placed at different angles for easy use. But you could glue everything into place if you wish.

Sticking in the scenery

Turn the puppet theater face down, and use some tape to tape the scenery into place on all three sides over the “screen”. Remember that the brown side needs to be up against the screen.
I used a sticky dot to attach the moon to the back of the “screen”.

Decorating your Theater

This step is optional. You can decorate your theater in any manner you wish. You will find all the pieces I used in the templates, use them or make your own! I traced them onto the scrap pieces of the box I had over, cut them out, and glued them onto the theater box.

I painted the front and sides of the box black first. Do not paint the inside of the box because you don’t want to damage the “screen” with paint!

Then, I used a white felt-tip pen to write and draw on the pieces, bringing them to life.

Setting up your Theater

Place your theater onto the edge of a table.

After testing different light sources, I found that a lamp with an LED globe worked best.

I placed the lamp on a stool lower than the table; shining upwards was the best solution.

This is something you will have to experiment with until you are happy.

Remember, you do not want your shadow to be seen through the screen.

I also found that the skewer position attached to the puppet was important.

Because I was working directly behind the theater, attaching the skewer perpendicular to the puppet worked best.

More than One Puppeteer

When you were preparing your box, you cut out three windows. You might be wondering, “What are the two smaller windows for?” Well, if there are more of you doing the puppet show at the same time, the side windows are for the other puppeteers to come in from the sides with their puppets. In this case, the skewer can be attached flat on the back of the puppet, either coming out on the left or the right.

Your Shadow Puppet Theater is ready for action! So go and wow your audience!

Learning Outcomes and Skill Development

For your lesson planning some of the learning outcomes and skill developments you can expect from a Shadow Puppet Theatre project include:

• Creativity and Imagination – This activity encourages children to develop storytelling and creative skills.
• Fine Motor Skills – Scissor skills plus hand-eye coordination is required when manipulating the puppets throughout the story.
• Communication Skills – Children practice public speaking and enunciation, plus it encourages listening and comprehension skills for other students watching.
• Teamwork – This is the perfect project for students to practice their collaborative and cooperation skills.
• EQ (Emotions) – Kids will practice showing different emotions through their characters by using body language, word choices, and tone of voice.
• Problem Solving and Critical Thinking – Designing the puppets and making a theater that works involves trying different designs and engineering processes before they reach the setup that works well.
• Confidence and Self-esteem – Many children lack the confidence to act out or tell stories in front of others. This is a fun lesson to boost confidence and self-esteem, as the children are behind the screen and cannot be seen by the audience.
• Language Development – Reading and writing skills, plus storytelling. Especially if you encourage your students to create their own stories and plays.
• Visual Arts – Designing puppets, backdrops, and theaters.
• Science – Understanding light and shadows.
• Math – Making the theater involves measuring and cutting.
• Cultural Awareness – Learning about the history and traditions of shadow puppetry in all the different cultures fosters global awareness and an appreciation of diversity.

Extension Activities

Did you enjoy the Shadow Puppet Theatre? Here are more ways you can play with shadows!

Hand Shadow Puppets

To make shadows of animals and insects, you can use your hands, a light source, and a blank wall.

See the infographic below to try your hand at these shadow puppets.

Shadow Art

With a piece of paper, a light source, and a table, you can make amazing pieces of art inside.

See the infographic below and have a bash at these kinds of shadow puppets, too.

Remember, you don’t have to use a poem or a song for your Shadow Puppet Theater. Get creative and write your own short stories!

Most of all have fun learning about shadows and light and making your Shadow Puppet Theatre!