Science and Puppets

Study Guide

Science and Puppets was created to present an entertaining and educational overview of major scientific developments of the last 1000 years and to show kids what it takes to be a scientist. The inventor of the fireplace teaches how great technology fills a need or solves a problem. Gutenberg illustrates the power of the printed word and how new tools can expand your abilities. Copernicus explains how careful, meticulous work and writing are important for science. Ben Franklin illustrates the importance of reading and education. Marie Curie teaches that anyone can be a scientist regardless of gender, religion or nationality. In a positive and fun manner, children learn that, through reading and education, they can become the future scientists that will solve the problems that face us.

About Puppets

The art of puppetry is very old and goes back to prerecorded history. Puppetry has been popular in almost every culture. Part of this popularity comes from the fact that puppets can be made out of almost anything from papier-mâché or metal, to sticks or old socks. The most important ingredient, however, is the life that the puppeteer puts into the puppet. That's the part that can change an old sock into a lovable dragon. There are four basic types of puppets.

Hand puppets are operated by placing your hand inside of them with your fingers operating the arms and head. Punch and Judy are hand puppets that are very popular in England. In Science and Puppets, Copernicus is a hand puppet..

Rod puppets are worked from below by rods that are connected to the puppet's movable arms and head. One variation of the rod puppet is Japan's Bunraku puppets. Bunraku puppets have very short rods on them so you can see the puppeteers that are working them. It takes three puppeteers to work a real Bunraku puppet but the movements are very life-like. Ben Franklin is a European style rod puppet while Marie Currie is similar to a Bunraku puppet.

Remote control or R/C puppets, like the talking book, contain tiny motors which give them movement. They are often controlled by standard R/C transmitters like those used by model airplane hobbyists.

The alien droid in Science and Puppets is a true robot. He contains motors and electronics similar to R/C puppets with one important difference...his movements are all preprogrammed making him a true robot. He contains a lot of other electronics that allow his mouth of LED's (Light Emitting Diodes) to talk.

A very important but invisible part of Science and Puppets is the laptop computer which “runs” the whole show. All the lighting, sound, video, and even the performance of the alien droid are controlled by the laptop during live performance. Much of this show was created on the computer as well. The computer was used to record the soundtrack, compose all the music and assemble all of the video. The script for the show was written using a word processor and a lot of the research for this show was done over the Internet!

There are many steps in creating a puppet show and they are almost the same as if you were doing a play. In fact, learning about theater and acting in plays can help you become a puppeteer. In the first step you must find or create a story. Next, the story has to be turned into a script or play complete with all the things each puppet will say and do. Then, you must decide on the type of puppets you want to use, and build and dress them. The show may also require scenery, props, and perhaps music and lights. After this, the only thing left to do is rehearse the puppet show until it is ready to give before an audience. In spite of all the work puppetry is tremendous fun. Ask any puppeteer!

Activities

Create a theory about how something works. Then think of ways that you could do experiments and test your theory.

Make a timeline showing some of the events in the show.

Using the Internet do some research and find a few more interesting facts about one of these scientists.

Discussion questions

Why did Copernicus stay quiet about his theories for 40 years?

What was the name of the chemical Marie Curie discovered? How has this chemical changed our lives for the better and for the worse?

What natural event happened in the environment that made the fireplace such a great invention?

Why was the printing press so important? Talk about what it would be like to make a book by hand. What basic skill is required by both books and the Internet?

What are your favorite inventions? Some very popular recent inventions are DVD, Xbox, CD players, etc. How do you think they were developed and by whom?

Discuss the kinds of things that you might like to invent. Can you think of an invention that would “fill a need?” What kind of information would you need to develop your idea?

Resources

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Kid’s Pages. A great list of links about science specifically for kids. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/links.htm

Becoming a Scientist, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Video clips of real scientists explaining what it takes to become a researcher. http://hhmi.org/becoming/

National Geographic World Magazine. National Geographic’s web site for kids. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/media/world/index.html

NASA’s Space Place. National Aeronautics and Space Administration web site for kids. http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/

Reed Marionettes Web Site. Learn more about our other shows and puppets. http://www.reedmarionettes.com/

The Puppetry Home Page. One of the best sources of puppetry information with links to zillions of other sites. A huge source of information. http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/

Puppetry Traditions around the World

http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/traditions/index.html

Puppet Building and Building Materials

http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/building/index.html

http://www.reedmarionettes.com/

Or call 1-877-803-6575 toll free for more information