This activity ignites the imagination as you create shadow characters with your hands. It teaches kids about shadows and light direction. Bring your characters to life with movement and tell a story. Have fun by giving your shadow puppets funny voices, or making them have a fight or a kiss.
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Top tip!
There are many similarities between shadow play and cinema, as they both use light to project images on to a screen. Try using your voice, music, or even a splash of colour to give your shadow puppet story a cinematic feel.
Steps
1
Find a light-coloured piece of wall or hang a white sheet. Place a lamp in front of it or point a torch at it.
2
Position your hands between the lamp and the wall, and see what shapes your hands cast as shadows. Can you make a giant hand and a tiny hand using distance? Can you create a butterfly by linking your thumbs together?
3
Experiment with shapes. The gaps between your fingers/hands will create white space among the shadow. See if you can make any of these shapes: Butterfly, Cow, Deer, Dog, Donkey and Duck.