ABOUT: Flying Fox Puppets is an amateur puppet theater in Lincoln, Nebraska. Through the fun of hand puppets, we help audiences delight in, explore, and learn about:
We tell tales with tails!
- gardening
- plants
- insects
- animals
Flying Fox has performed at venues such as a 4-H camp, a county fair, and a wildflower festival.
Shows Performed by Flying Fox Puppets
Pollinator Pals
Plantanimal Parade
Soil Adventure
Creature Feature
Puppet Show:
POLLINATOR PALS
The POLLINATOR PALS cannot find the home of their friend Daphne the Dog because her doghouse has become covered with invasive vines. DAPHNE THE DOG is sad because she can’t reach her bone under the vines and she misses her pollinator pals.
Daphne calls for help! A friend helps Daphne clear away the vines, bring back the flowers, and convert Daphne’s front yard from lawn back to a bed of flowers. Daphne’s pals visit and have a feast. But will Daphne get her bone back??
AGES: ca. 4-8
TOPICS: Home pollinator gardens, beneficial insects, invasive plants.
THEMES: Relationship of home gardens to larger ecosystem, friendship.
ACTIVITY: Make paper bag pollinator puppets & join the Pollinator Pals for a feast of flowers after the show. Click HERE for a link to the DIY pollinator paper bag puppet templates.
Puppet Show:
Soil Adventure
STELLA & STEVE meet to complete their science homework. They need to examine soil under a microscope. But can Stella’s dog Dawson handle the adventure when he discovers that the soil consists of microorganisms that are ALIVE?!?
AGES: ca. 6–9
TOPICS: Soil, things smaller than the naked eye, decomposition of leaves, earthworms.
THEMES: Complexity of soil, adventure of exploration, use of the imagination, friendship.
ACTIVITY: During the show, the audience participates by viewing soil microorganisms (well, puppet versions of them) through special magnifying glasses. After the show, each child gets a puppet-worm to take home (don’t worry, they’re not alive!).
PERFORMANCE SETTING: This show is best suited to indoor venues and smaller groups.
Puppet Show:
PLANTANIMAL PARADE
HEDLEY THE HEDGEHOG wants to march in the Plantanimal Parade with his best friend Skippy the Skunk. In the parade, the animals will carry plants named after them. Skippy will carry skunk cabbage.
They will compete for prizes such as best plant-animal look-alike. Animals carrying plants native to Nebraska will receive special recognition.
The parade starts soon! But is there a plant named after hedgehogs??
??
AGES: ca. 4–10
TOPICS: Plants named after animals and insects, origin of plant names, plants native to Nebraska.
THEMES: The wide variety of plants and animals in nature, friendship.
ACTIVITY: After the show, children may touch some of the plants. In-season, live plants will be used when possible; off-season, artificial plants. Coming soon! Paper bag DIY puppet templates for the animals in the Plantanimal parade so that children can march with the animals and the plants named after them.
PERFORMANCE SETTING: This show is best suited for mid-July to early-September when some of the plants featured in the show are in-season. But it can be performed any time of the year.
Puppet Show:
CREATURE FEATURE
LIVE! From
Crow
News
Network
CARLA THE CROW hosts the show “Creature Feature” on Crow News Network. No wonder she is known as “the Oprah of ornithology.”
On each episode, Carla interviews a different animal or insect. This show can be adapted to various topics. Send your request to Flying Fox and we’ll see if we can accommodate your topic.
GALLERY:
Stars of the Stage
Show: POLLINATOR PALS
Daphne the Dog
The Pollinator Pals
Show: SOIL ADVENTURE
The Cast
Rosa
the Rabbit
The Microbes’ Lunch
Show: PLANTANIMAL PARADE
Hedley the Hedgehog
Butterfly Weed
and Tiger Lily
... but is there
a plant named
after hedgehogs??
Show: CREATURE FEATURE
Carla interviewing Sharleas the Sheep
Carla the Crow
greeting a fan
BEHIND THE SCENES
Daphne the Dog chatting with
the audience
Members of the audience touching plants after a performance of Plantanimal Parade
DIY PAPER BAG PUPPETS
YOU WILL NEED:
- A brown paper bag (5x3x10").
- A free, printable template.
- Colored pens* or crayons.
- Scissors.
- Glue stick.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE:
- PRINT a template on
cardstock (best) or regular paper.
- COLOR the insect parts.
- CUT out the parts.
- GLUE the parts to a bag.
Click below to select a template.
When a new tab opens, click “ Share,” in the upper right corner,
to download a printable PDF.
* TIP: Highlighter pens works well for coloring:
- the bee’s yellow stripes.
- the firefly’s yellow, green, or orange light.
INVITE FLYING FOX PUPPETS
Flying Fox Puppets is fully booked for the summer of 2024. But to invite Flying Fox Puppets, fpr a future show, please click CONTACT below.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Indoor venues are preferred to assure optimal audio. However, some outdoor venues will be considered.
- While Flying Fox Puppets is a volunteer, not-for-profit endeavor, offering a small honorarium—such as $40 per show—would assist with the costs of puppets, props, craft supplies, etc. For shows fifteen miles or more from our Founder’s home in Lincoln, NE, a travel stipend of .20￠ per mile is suggested to assist with travel expenses.
- Flying Fox Puppets does not perform for entertainment settings such as birthday parties.
FOUNDER
Founder Jennifer Bryson is a hobby puppeteer who loves plants and the outdoors. She lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was formerly a Master Gardener in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
