Free Puppet Show for School Grades K-2

Do you want total K-2 entertainment while learning key animal science concepts, grounded in the Colorado Academic Standards? Then, try our Zoopeteer programs that introduce the exciting world of animals, their characteristics and habitats, through an entertaining and very educational puppet presentation by the CMZoo Auxiliary performing troupe.

Target Audience

Kindergarten, First & Second Grades

Dates & Times

– Dates offered: October through March only
– Days offered: Tuesdays & Thursdays
– Availability: Limited, schedule early as programs fill quickly
– Time: 35-45 minutes in length, per Zoopeteer program presentation

Details & Requirements

– Call and schedule as early as possible for availability, as days and times are limited and fill up quickly.
– All shows are presented from a portable stage requiring 12 square feet of space plus sitting room, in one location for all presentations.
– Teachers should coordinate show times and select a presentation at their grade levels.
– Zoopeteers prefer to present more than one show in a given day and generally do not return to the same school during the performance season. (Please coordinate with K, 1st, and 2nd grade teachers in your building to get the most out of the puppet shows.)

Cost

FREE* (student or adult)

*Although there is no charge for these Zoopeteer Presentations (a public service of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Auxiliary), a donation to the program would be gratefully received to cover costs of the stage, props and puppets for our Zoopeteers.

Zoopeteer Program Choices:

Preschool & Kindergarten programs:

  • “Hippo-NOT-umus” – Children will laugh and learn watching this puppet show based on a story that tells how important adaptations such as the elephant’s trunk are to an animal’s life. Portly the hippo tries to be other animals but finds that his own life is best for him.
  • “Bear Cub is Lost” – Some animals invite a lost bear cub to share their homes and food.

First Grade programs:

  • “What’s My Habitat?” – This Zoopeteer Presentation discusses habitats and opens with three animals in the wrong habitats. After they find their correct habitats, they play a guessing game with clues about other animals and where they live.
  • “Home for Polar Bear” – An unhappy polar bear magically visits various habitats and finally discovers that an Arctic home is best for him.
  • “The Arctic” – Ms. Docent and Cheyenne, the giraffe, take a wrong turn while searching for other giraffes and end up at the North Pole where they discover some very different animals.
  • “The Waterhole” – Ms. Docent and Cheyenne meet several animals at a waterhole in Africa (Kenya) and learn about these creatures and their surroundings.

Second Grade programs:

  • “The Brave Little Tree Frog” – An adventurous tree frog, with help from his friends, journeys across South America to save the rain forests.
  • “Colorado Wild” – Ms. Docent and Cheyenne visit the different life zones of Colorado learning about the animals and plants in each zone.
  • “Water for Life” – A wise, old tortoise helps show the students the diversity of life in a variety of different habitats, the importance of water to living things, and introduces the concept of conservation of water.
Colorado Academic Standards & Grade Level Expectations for Puppet Shows

Colorado Science Standard #2: Life Science:
Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the process of life, and how living things interact with each other and their environment.

Grade Level Expectations:
Kindergarten: To live and grow, animals obtain food they need from plants or other animals, …
1st Grade: 1. All organisms have external parts that they use to perform daily functions.
Young organisms are very much, but not exactly, like their parents, and also resemble other organisms of the same kind.
2nd Grade: 2. A range of different organisms live in different places.

Colorado Social Studies Standard #2: Geography:
The study of geography creates an informed person with an understanding of spatial perspective and technologies for spatial analysis; and an awareness of the interdependence of the world regions and resources, and how places are connected at the local, national, and global scales. Students understand the complexity and interrelatedness of people, places, and environments. Geography helps students appreciate the dynamic relationships and complexity of the world.

Grade Level Expectations:
Kindergarten: Recognize that geographic tools represent places and spaces.
1st Grade: Locate places and spaces using geographic tools.
2nd Grade: Use geographic terms and tools to describe places and spaces.

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