How to Make Shadow Puppet Animals

Turn off all the lights and shine a bright light against a blank wall. If you have a bedside lamp, remove the shade to allow its light to spill into the room. If you don't have a lamp, use a flashlight on a shelf to concentrate the light on one wall.

Place your hands directly in front of the light source so their shadow appears on the wall. The closer your hands are to the light, the larger the puppet will be. Move your hands toward the wall to create a smaller image.

Interlock your two thumbs and wave your remaining fingers up and down to create a bird shadow puppet.

Hold your left hand in a loose fist and then hold the right hand behind the closed fist. Extend your right hand's index and middle finger upwards to create a rabbit shadow puppet. Wiggle the ears by moving the fingers on the right hand. Make the nose wiggle by moving the fingers on the left hand.

Bend the middle finger of your right hand over the index finger and extend the ring and pinky fingers out straight to form the front legs of a dog. Create a gun shape using the thumb, index and middle fingers of your left hand and place them and the base of the wrist of the right hand. This will create a dog shadow puppet.