GO! With Kids: Create puppets from simple to fancy at art center
Students perform a puppet show at a 2015 puppetry camp at the Brigham City Fine Arts Center.
Molly and Eden Emerson show off puppets they made in a 2015 art class at the Brigham City Fine Arts Center.
Mattie Kartchner and Annel Palfreyman show off their puppets created in a 2015 puppetry camp at the Brigham City Fine Arts Center.
A variety of puppets are on display in the World of Puppetry Museum in the Brigham City Fine Arts Center.
Marionettes are among the many puppets featured in the World of Puppetry Museum in the Brigham City Fine Arts Center.
Lady Marva Sophia, the near life-sized queen of the Brigham Fine Arts Center World of Puppetry Museum
A variety of puppets are on display in the World of Puppetry Museum at the Brigham City Fine Arts Center.
BRIGHAM CITY — For many kids, summer is a time for art and no one knows that better than Brigham City Fine Arts Center Director Susan Neidert.
But the art her center teaches to kids is an art that they create and then perform — the art of puppetry.
“I have always really enjoyed puppetry and it was the incentive to start the fine arts center,” said Neidert, who has been a puppeteer for decades.
She got things started at the Brigham City center with the idea of teaching children how to make puppets. And she now does just that, with many helpers to assist her.
• RELATED: GO! With Kids: Dig dinos? Ogden park has your fix
As the children enjoyed making the puppets, Neidert found that expanded into teaching them other arts including fine arts, writing, acting and singing. But for her, most of those elements still come with puppet making at the core.
“In theater you do a big production, but with puppets you get to do a production and take a keepsake,” she said.
GO! With Kids
• WHERE: Puppetry activities at Brigham City Fine Arts Center, 58 S. 100 West, Brigham City
• WHEN: World of Puppetry Museum open 1 p.m.-4 p.m. on first and third Saturdays of each month; other puppetry classes and workshops presented on various dates
• ADMISSION: Museum is free; fees for classes and workshops vary
• INFORMATION: 435-723-0740, www.bcfineartscenter.org
Summer is a great time to take advantage of various puppet-related events at the Brigham City Fine Arts Center.
“Puppets on Parade,” a class which combines musical theater and puppetry, begins July 18 and continues through July 22; hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. The cost is $55. The students wrap up the session by presenting formal puppet shows at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 22.
Summer art exploration camps include puppet making as well. The next session runs July 11 to July 15; cost is $60.
Puppetry is included in weekly story hours at 10 a.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 10; the sessions also feature stories, songs and crafts. The cost is $5 per person or $15 per family.
Preschool puppet and storytime magic is at 9:30 a.m. on the fourth Fridays of each month. The suggested donation is $1. Also, puppet-making workshops are available by appointment.
The center’s World of Puppetry Museum is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays of each month. Admission to the museum is free.
The goal of the classes is to make them affordable for all families, Neidert said; scholarships are available if needed.
Neidert said she loves watching the children light up when they work on their puppet creations. The projects range from very simple paper-plate puppets to more advanced marionettes that are fired in a kiln to finish.
“You can really learn a large variety of art skills when making a puppet,” Neidert said. “It’s basically considered a part of the theater.”
Brigham City resident Sally Warren has watched her five grandchildren all take and enjoy puppet-making classes at the center.
“The thing I love is that they can go from the very simple to the very advanced,” Warren said. “There are so many different types, they can be as creative as they want to be.”
Warren has also worked at the center and seen various classes come and go. “It’s a delight to watch them work,” she said. “They really love it and love what they learn.”
The children have full creative control, Warren said. “They get to come up with their plays, their puppets, it’s all what they want it to be. That’s really important,” she said.
Neidert said watching the different programs grow and flourish has been a joy for her. She hopes to reach a wide audience between the storytime puppet shows, the museum and the classes as well.