After visiting the CKS Memorial, a subway ride and lunch but before visiting the next famous Taipei landmark, Sam and I headed for a lesserner known museum in Taipei: The Puppet Museum (also called the Puppetry Art Center Taipei or 台北偶戲館).
We learned that there are three types of traditional puppetry in Taiwan: glove puppets, string puppets, and shadow puppets. It was a cool museum that had all the information about the puppets translated into English. However, it was also really interactive. After learning about each type of traditional puppet, they had a some that could be played with.
See these and more full size photos from our trip.
These puppets--especialy the glove or hand puppets--are very popular in Taiwan. In fact, there are lots of shows on TV which star an all puppet cast. At first Sam thought these shows were strange and very fake, but after the museum trip he decided that if he could understand Taiwanese he would watch the shows.
In order to reach the Taiwanese in a very culturally relevant way, there is one missionary (one that I know of at least) who envisions using traditional Taiwanese glove puppets to tell Bible Stories. I think that is an awesome idea! This missionary, who works with OMF Taiwan, has an informative powerpoint about her vision online. How Cool!!
P.S. If you are actually thinking about going
the museum, I would make one caution, it is rather small, as in not a
lot to do/look at for individual visitors. It seemed to be more
structured for preschool and elementary fieldtrips with much space
being devoted to craft rooms where young stundents could make and take
puppets. However, Sam and I enjoyed what were able to see and do
there. I am glad he was there to go with me. I always love learning more about the Taiwanese culture.
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