Noah's Ark Puppet Play

Adapted from Genesis Chapters 6-9 | by Luanne Payne

Luanne writes: This is an easy-to-do puppet play, it is great for younger or older children. Is successful with a small group or a larger group, you’ll even get the very shy to gladly participate. You could make the props in your art center. We used our entire small Sunday school for this. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to adjust to your needs. God bless.

PROPS

1. Noah’s Ark - draw and cut out using a large sheet of brown construction paper (use a coloring book picture of Noah’s ark as a reference). Clue to a piece of cardboard then using masking tape, tape a wooden dowel (about 40” long, 5/16 width, can purchase at a lumber store).
2. Sun - draw and cut out a sun using yellow bristol board. Tape wooden dowel to back.
3. Waves (4) - cut waves from cardboard, approximately 4-5 feet long, 1 foot high. Paint blue. (no dowels - a child holds each one up and waves it gently up and down, back and forth, a crowd pleaser).
4. Rain Clouds (2) - draw and cut out clouds using black bristol board. Add streaks of yellow lighting (using yellow bristol board taped to back of cloud and let hang down).
5. White Dove - draw and cut out dove from white bristol board. Attach wooden dowel to back so that as child waves it, the bird looks to be in motion.
6. Rainbow - we made a colored rainbow out of several pieces of construction paper and taped them together in the shaped of a rainbow, then glued cardboard on back for support, it’s a good three feet wide. We taped a dowel to each end, so two children held it.
7. Animal Puppets - get as many animal puppets as you can find - ask the congregation to loan you theirs or check with your local school as they often have puppets in the junior grades and would gladly loan them to you.
8. Three Children- We had three 'human puppets' - one was Noah , and the other two represented the laughing crowd.
9. A couple of hammers, a saw, and a plank of wood, needs to be set-up so an older child can saw the wood at one end and a couple younger children can hammer at the other end. This is not seen, just heard. (A crowd pleaser).

I narrated the story and paused where appropriate for the kids to do actions with their props/puppets. Capitalized sections are the actions that need to take place.

Note: Our stage was in two heights, one for the bigger children and one for the smaller children. We did this using a large appliance box we cut and opened, one side we cut lower. I just threw sheets over it and gathered them to look like a curtain. Held on by the weight, ½ on one side, ½ draped on the other.

SCRIPT

Narrator reads:
It was a sad time for God. Everywhere he looked he saw hatred and evil filling the souls of the people on earth.

TWO PEOPLE FIGHT THEN EXIT

He decided he needed to destroy evil by sending a great flood. Everything and everyone would be destroyed. This he told to the one man who was good and loved God, this man's name was Noah and this is the tale of Noah's Ark.

NOAH ENTERS - LOOKS UP AS GOD TALKS TO HIM - SHAKES HIS HEAD YES

God spoke to Noah, "I am going to destroy the evil in this world by sending a great flood. I want you, Noah, to build an Ark from gopher wood and seal it with tar. Inside make three decks and build stalls for the animals. It is to measure four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Put a door in the side and a window in the top.

NOAH EXITS

So Noah gathered together his family and told them of God's warning, then they started building the Ark.

HAMMER HAMMER SAW SAW

NOAH ENTERS HIGH STAGE - 3 PEOPLE ENTER LOW STAGE - THEY LOOK AT NOAH, SHAKING THEIR HEADS AND LAUGHING LOUDLY

Noah went to his neighbors and friends and tried to persuade them to stop doing wrong.
Noah said, "Unless you tell God you're sorry for the bad things you have done, you will all drown." But everyone laughed and made fun of Noah. People would come to watch and shout at Noah, "Noah, when are you going to finish that big thing, you must be mad, the water will not come and that thing will never float."

ALL PUPPETS EXIT

HAMMER HAMMER SAW SAW

They worked hard, Noah and his family; it took them many years to build the Ark as God had asked.

HOLD UP THE ARK HIGH STAGE

Meanwhile God spoke to all the animals and told them of the coming danger and that they must go to the safety of the Ark where Noah's family would care for them. So as Noah and his family were putting the last of their supplies aboard the Ark an astonished cry arose. Looking towards the horizon they could see a long parade of animals heading straight for them.

ENTER THE ANIMALS SLOWLY (LOW STAGE) GOING ACROSS STAGE TOWARDS THE ARK, EVERYONE SHOULD PAUSE A MINUTE SO THE AUDIENCE GETS THE FULL EFFECT. THEN HAVE THEIR PUPPET WAVE, SHAKE IT’S HEAD OR MAKE A NOISE (BARK/MEOW) AT THE AUDIENCE (THE CHILDREN SHOULD SIT DOWN AFTER THEIR PART AND WAIT QUIETLY UNTIL THEY GO ON AGAIN TO EXIT THE ARK

There were rabbits and dogs, lions and bears, giraffes and elephants, pigs and sheep, and birds of all kinds. When Noah and his family and all the animals and birds were safely inside, God closed the big door.

PUT UP THE SUN

Seven days passed and it did not rain. Outside the sun shone brightly. The people came and laughed up at the Ark and at Noah for having worked so hard for nothing.

SUN DOWN
CLOUDS UP - MOVE THEM AROUND IT'S STORMY (SOUND EFFECTS WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU HAVE THEM)

Then suddenly the laughter died as the sky darkened, the lighting flashed across the sky, and thunder crashed with a frightening, deafening sound. The rain started to fall, and kept falling day and night without stopping.

WAVE 1 - APPEARS IN FRONT OF ARK - HAVE WAVES GOING UP AND DOWN - BACK AND FORTH LIKE A REAL WAVE

The water began to rise, covering the grass...

WAVE 2 - APPEARS BEHIND ARK

. . . then the trees,

WAVE 3 - APPEARS LOW STAGE

Higher and higher.

WAVE 4 APPEARS BEHIND 3 (Note: have the children keep moving their waves up and down and back and forth gently until they exit.)

For forty days and forty nights the rain fell. But Noah, his family and the animals were safe and dry.

CLOUDS DOWN

When the rain finally stopped Noah opened the window but he could see nothing but water, no hills or mountains, just water as far as the eye could see. For one hundred and fifty days they floated.
Then one day Noah sent a white dove free,

DOVE FLIES OUT FROM BEHIND ARK ACROSS STAGE THEN FLIES BACK BEHIND ARK

but she came back tired for she found no place to land.
A week later Noah sent the dove out again.

DOVE FLIES AWAY FROM ARK AGAIN AND THIS TIME RETURNS WITH LEAF, ATTACH LEAF OFF STAGE.

and waited anxiously for her return. When the dove did return in her beak was an olive leaf she had picked from a tree.

Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again...

DOVE FLIES AWAY FROM ARK AND DOES NOT RETURN

. . .and this time she did not return.

Noah and his family wondered when they would be on dry land and God would open the door for them.

SUN RISES SLOWLY UP BEHIND ARK AND WAVES NOW DISAPPEAR #4, #3, #2 THEN #1

One morning as the sun rose brightly in the sky the water was gone and everyone was awakened by a very loud creaking sound as the large door of the Ark slowly opened. Noah and his family joyously released the animals and all headed for dry land.

ANIMALS LEAVE ARK MAKING ANIMAL NOISES EXIT AND SIT DOWN
NOAH AND FAMILY (OTHER PEOPLE PUPPETS) COME OUT OF ARK AND STAY ON STAGE

Their was laughter and singing, dogs barking, horses neighing, lions roaring, as they all celebrated being free at last. Suddenly in the sky appeared a beautifully colored rainbow.

RAINBOW RISES INTO THE SKY EVERYONE TURNS TO LOOK AT IT

The colors were brilliant red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. "This is a sign to remind us to listen to God, to be kind and generous to our neighbors and to animals."

So whenever you see a rainbow think of God and remember how important it is to be kind and caring of one another and this wonderful planet we live on.

Copyright 1997 Luanne Payne
Sunday School Teacher, Hampton United Church, Hampton, Ontario, Canada. 

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