Marionettes make history hands-on

BOUNTIFUL — Tugging at puppet strings in their fingers, students at Holbrook Elementary took part in a hands-on history lesson last week.

The students are in Jana Ashliman's third-grade class. They presented a historical marionette program for their friends and families May 3 in the school's multipurpose room at 1018 E. 250 North.

The students have been creating the marionettes since the first of the year.

They started by choosing a famous person from history and writing a one-page research paper on that person. Then in January they began creating a marionette that looked like that historical figure.

The students made heads, hands and feet for their marionettes out of clay. The bodies were then made out of strips of material and tied together. The students painted the hands and feet and then took the marionettes home to find clothes for them.

"From January to March they are putting them together and getting them dressed," Ashliman said, adding that some students' parents made clothing for the marionettes while others dressed their marionettes in Barbie clothes.

The students also wrote plays and made scenery for their production. Ashliman said they also learned 16 songs for the program.

Standing behind a stage made of PVC pipe and trimmed with gold curtains, the students took turns presenting their part of the marionette production. They stood on a wooden riser and tugged at their puppets' strings acting out the scripts they had written.

From John Adams and Babe Ruth to Albert Einstein and Helen Keller, the marionettes came in all varieties.

One of the scenes, "George Washington Meets Abraham Lincoln," highlighted two of the country's early presidents. Washington wore a white wig and blue coat while Lincoln was dressed in a black hat and jacket.

The narrator of the scene, Mitch Allsop, discussed similarities between the two men. "These two presidents are greatly honored for their service," he said.

He also mentioned that both are featured on different pieces of American currency.

"I'm on the quarter and $1 bill," said George Washington, controlled by Sam Richins.

"I'm on the penny and $5 bill," Abraham Lincoln, controlled by David Smith, added.

Another scene, "The First Thanksgiving Feast," featured two Native Americans, Squanto and Massasoit. Both had long black hair and tan costumes. They talked about the impact the Pilgrims had on their lives.