Holiday sock puppetry at the National Museum of Australia
📸 Photos by Tim Ngo, courtesy of the National Museum of Australia.
This school holidays, the National Museum of Australia was buzzing with imagination, laughter, and hundreds of googly eyes! Over five fun-filled days, I had the joy of running Sock Puppet Workshops as part of the Mr Squiggle and Friends exhibition — and together, participants created an incredible 616 puppets!
Each session began with a hands-on creative burst, where children (and their parents!) transformed socks into expressive, colourful characters. After crafting, I guided everyone through a mini puppetry workshop — teaching professional puppeteering techniques, such as lip syncing and bringing characters to life with movements and voices. It was a delight watching each puppet “wake up” in its maker’s hands!
Making sock puppets with the Programs Team at the National Museum of Australia
📸 Photos by Tim Ngo, courtesy of the National Museum of Australia.
The feedback from families was overwhelmingly positive, here are a few highlights:
“The children were involved in making a sock puppet. The puppet demonstration was excellent as usual.”
“It was exactly as I'd been expecting, but probably better resourced than this kind of program usually is… The short segment of puppetry teaching was great, and frankly we could have stayed longer!”
“My twins both engaged with the program… I thought it was great having a puppeteer there to give tips, and the staff were engaging as well. I enjoyed making my own sock puppet alongside my kids.”
It was also an absolute pleasure working alongside the wonderful NMA Programs Team, whose warmth, enthusiasm, and support made every session run seamlessly. The quality of materials, the relaxed pace, and the opportunity for children (and adults!) to truly dive into creative play made these sessions extra special. Their collaboration helped create such a welcoming and fun environment for families — and it was a joy to capture that spirit together in a team photo.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined, to the families who returned after my workshops at the NMA during the July School Holidays, and to the Programs team and NMA staff for making it all possible.
Want to make sock puppets at home? Download my free printable sock puppet activity (video tutorial coming soon)!
📸 Photos by Tim Ngo, courtesy of the National Museum of Australia.
Use these printable PDF documents to help create your own sock puppet character!
Instruction video coming soon!
Simply print out these PDF two documents on normal copy paper (eyes and facial features), colour in your chosen designs with markers, pencils or paints, cut out using scissors and fix them to your sock. You can use as many or as little as you like! The character designs are endless! Your sock can be a new or old sock - just make sure it is clean! You can attach the facial features using stick-tape (as a non-permanent solution) or using glue for a permanent solution. When using glues, please ensure you check the label, have a well-ventilated room and ask an adult for help.
Please note this is a digital download and not a physical product. PDF download is formatted to suit A4 paper.
Free download.
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