Making your cone puppet dance to music*, or expressing or evoking emotion through movement, is both fun and entertaining. To begin, while holding the cone in your less dominant hand, grasp the dowel rod near its end bead with your dominant hand. To make the puppet "hide" in the cone, simply pull down on the rod until the puppet disappears inside the cone. For a surprise, it can pop up quickly. On the other hand, to create anticipation, move the rod ever-so-slowly. To make the puppet "peek out", raise the rod until just the eyes are visible. To make the puppet look to the left or right, twist the rod slightly in your fingers. To have it take a closer look at you (or the viewer), lean the rod against the inside of the cone toward the desired viewer. Twist the rod slightly back and forth while tilting it to give it a quizical expression. To have the puppet come out further, simply raise the rod more. To have the puppet look behind itself, twist the rod half a turn. To lean to the right or left, simply lean the rod against the inside of the cone to whichever side you wish it to lean. Twist and lean the rod forward or backward to make its arm cross its body. To view the back of the puppet, twist the rod a half turn and loosen your grip with your less dominant hand so that the cone spins lightly around half-way. To swish a tail or wiggle a fanny, hold the rod still while you move the cone back and forth or in a circular motion (to make a tail spin around like a propeller, for instance). To make it bob up and down, simply pull the rod up and down. Vary the speed of movements. Combine these movements and invent your own. Put on some music and watch your puppet dance. Or if you are clever with dialog, gather your friends and add more cone puppet characters, make a back-drop, act out a story, and put on a show!

If you are a teacher, you will find a cone puppet can be a wonderful teaching tool. So, put on some music, explore, and have fun!

* Examples of different movements can be viewed on the Cowboys page, the Cheerleaders page, the Cats page, and the Tea Party Girls page at http://www.PalacePuppets.com.