Spooky Shadow Puppets
Cut a bat and a cat from card, tape them to straws, and put on a show against the wall with a torch.
Cut simple Halloween shapes from card, tape them to straws and use a torch to make shadow puppets on a wall. Suits ages 4 to 8, takes 20 minutes to make and works best in a dark room.
The short version
- Chunky shapes. Thin legs and tails snap.
- Closer to the torch means a bigger shadow — let them discover that.
- Store them flat in an envelope for next year.
- Age
- Ages 4–8
- Prep
- 5 min
- Play time
- 30 min
- Mess
- Low
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Where
- Indoor
Why kids love this
The shadows are enormous. A bat the size of a hand becomes the size of a door on the wall, and that never stops being impressive. And there is a show at the end, which means an audience, which means it goes on for a very long time.
What you'll need
- Black card, or any card coloured in with a black felt tip
- Scissors
- Drinking straws, skewers or lolly sticks
- Sticky tape
- A torch
- A blank wall or a white sheet
Before you start
Draw the shapes on the card before you start if your child cannot yet draw them: a bat, a cat, a moon, a star, a witch's hat. Keep them chunky — thin legs and tails snap off. Check the room can be made dark enough.
How to do it
-
Draw simple chunky shapes on the black card.
-
Cut them out. Children can do this if the shapes are simple.
-
Tape a straw to the back of each one, near the bottom.
-
Turn the lights off and shine the torch at a blank wall.
-
Hold a puppet between the torch and the wall and see the shadow appear.
-
Move it closer to the torch. It gets bigger. Move it closer to the wall. It gets smaller.
-
Line the puppets up and tell a story with them.
-
Swap over so everybody gets to be the audience.
Make it easier
Precut the shapes and let them tape the straws on. Cutting card is harder than cutting paper and can be the step that ends it.
Make it harder
Add a hinged wing or jaw with a paper fastener, and ask them to write the story down before performing it.
Other ways to play it
- Make puppets of your own family instead.
- Cut a hole in a shoebox, tape greaseproof paper over it, and perform behind that.
- Add moving parts with a paper fastener — a bat with flapping wings.
- Use coloured cellophane for a stained-glass effect.
- Record the show on a phone and watch it back.
How it changes by age
- Four: precut shapes, they tape and perform.
- Five to six: they cut their own simple shapes.
- Seven and up: moving parts, a proper theatre from a shoebox, and a written script.
What they're learning
Moving the puppet nearer and further from the torch is a lesson in light and distance you can see happening — and children work out the rule themselves within about a minute. Performing a story is oral storytelling with a beginning, middle and end.
Clearing up
The puppets store flat in an envelope and come out again every year. Lights back on.