Puppets Explain Nanotechnology

Puppets make everything relateable, even nanotechnology.

How do you explain nanotechnology to the non-scientific? Graduate students Patrick Bennett and Ryan Miyakawa used puppets in this video. It was produced for a "What is Nanotechnology" video competition on YouTube and is hands-down the most inspired puppet video I've seen in awhile.

Hat tip to Neatorama via Scott @ Regator.

Tales of Disaster

Children in Indonesia, Afghanistan ans Sri Lanka learn important safety lessons thanks to the puppetry work of No Strings.

Tales of Disaster is a series of videos designed to teach children safety lessons about earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and floods and landslides. The videos use a combination of shadow puppetry and hand and rod puppets are produced by No Strings, a UK-based charity that uses puppetry to make lifesaving education films for children in developing countries about issues like earthquakes, tsunamis and HIV/Aids. No Strings' co-founders include Muppet veterans Michael Frith and Kathy Mullen. No Strings distributes the films in a variety of different ways, including local screenings in remote, local communities and broadcast on national television stations.

You can learn more about No Strings at www.nostrings.org.uk.

Puppet Show Marketing on YouTube

Puppeteer Steve Petra is using YouTube to help market his shows online.

A trend that seems to be quickly emerging is puppeteers using video sharing services like YouTube to advertise their shows and do a little viral marketing. A great example is this video of puppeteer Steve Petra performing his school show It's Alive. There are a lot of mediocre and downright horrid puppet shows that travel to schools and I think this is an easy way to stand out from the rest if you've got a great act. Offering online videos of your show to potential clients shows them who you are and what they can expect from you. I think it's a pretty safe bet that we'll see more and more puppeteers doing this kind of thing in the near future.

Oh, and if you're an elementary school teacher in Southern New York or South Western Connecticut and interested in booking one of Steve's shows visit the Petra Puppets web site for more information.

Alef...Bet...Blast Off!

Puppets teach traditional Jewish values in the educational video series Alef...Bet...Blast Off!

Alef...Bet...Blast Off! is a video series that uses puppetry to introduce children to traditional Jewish values and teach their relevance in the modern world. There are eight full-length episodes in total and lots of clips are available to watch on the web site of the Jewish TV Network (click on "Kidz" and then the "Alef...Bet...Blast Off!" tab).

The series also airs on selected PBS stations in the U.S. and is available on DVD through Ergo Media and other Jewish media retailers.