Play-based science activities for early learners - Questacon Science ...

Shadow Puppets
What they explore
Shadow play encourages children to use
their imagination and interact with others.
Stories can evolve night after night, as you
and your child become more skilful at creating
different shapes.
What you need
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A darkened room
A lamp or torch
A wall
Hands or cut-out shapes
What you do
Shine a lamp or a torch at a wall and use
your hands to create shadows.
See what different shapes you and your
child can make, or cut out shapes from
cardboard to make puppets.
Make up a story together or use the shadows
to act out a story from a favourite book.
What to ask
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How can we make the shadow bigger or smaller?
Can we tell a story with the shadows?
You can also explore how the angle of the
light and the distance affect the shadows
you make.
Try changing the size of the shadows
by moving your hands closer to or further
away from the light.
You could also use coloured cellophane
to make coloured shadows and see what
happens when you overlap different colours.
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