In this tutorial you will learn how to make a shadow puppet using the “mix-and-match” templates in our Printable Library. These templates are designed to make puppets in 19th clothes, but can easily be adjusted
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How to
How to make a portable shadow screen for classrooms
So far I have posted instructions for desk top shadow puppetry screens (made of a box or a tri-fold presentation board), as well as larger screens to use with overhead projectors. Over the last weeks I
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Folk and fairy tales
Damsels and Dragons
One of my earliest shadow puppets was Sir James, inspired by a dear friend whom I liked to tease with his notions about chivalry and gender roles. Dreaming of rescuing damsels in distress, Sir James
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How to
How to Make a Puppet of a Historical Figure: Martin Luther King
During Black History Month our shadow puppetry tutorials feature important figures in African-American history. Today we will be honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and showing you how to make a shadow puppet
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Black history
Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I A Woman: Teaching History with Shadow Puppets
In my last post I shared how to make a front-facing shadow puppet of Aretha Franklin that can sing. In this post I will show you how to make a side-facing puppet of the celebrated
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Music and composers
Making a singing puppet: Aretha Franklin!
On January 20, 2009, legendary “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin sang “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s first inauguration, with a hat that became just as memorable as the performance. Ten years later,
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Folk and fairy tales
Wolf stories
Everybody knows the stories of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. But do you the story of the Seven Young Kids (or Little Goats), who were similarly tricked? As you can read
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Bible stories
How to Host a DIY Nativity Shadow Puppetry Show
Hi all! My name is Sara, and I’m the daughter of Helene, the creator of Past Times. My mom has spent years of her life pouring love and creativity into shadow puppetry, a story-telling medium
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Greek mythology
Using an Overhead Projector for Shadow Puppetry
If you are doing a shadow puppetry performance for larger audiences, using an overhead projector as the light source has several advantages. The light is stronger than traditional lamps and is distributed more evenly over
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Tricks and Techniques
Going Bigger: Using Masks and Direct Projection
If you are using an overhead projector and big screen and want to have some variety in size (for instance to emphasize the difference between gods and mortals) there are two ways of doing so.