Puppet Shows for the ＂Rhythms of Life＂ Exhibition

生命律動特展中的偶戲

陳慧玲(Hui-Ling Chen)

puppet show ； museum theatre ； docent ； volunteer ； 偶戲 ； 博物館戲劇 ； 解說員 ； 志工

科技博物

22卷3期（2018 / 09 / 01）

95 - 134

英文

The National Museum of Natural Science's puppet shows were first developed for the ＂Rhythms of Life＂ exhibition in 2006. They were produced over a 3-month period and performed for 2 months in the summer of 2006. The author was the coordinator for this project. Important tasks for producing the puppet shows were given to museum docents and volunteers. There were many brainstorming sessions in which the scripts were written, the puppets were designed and the props and staging were created, as all worked cooperatively. In the beginning, museum docents doubted their acting abilities and expressed fear. But, after several training sessions and some experience, the museum docents and volunteers gained confidence, and the shows were a success. The aim of this article is to attempt to understand who attended these puppet shows, the characteristics of these puppet shows, the difficulties encountered in their development and the reflections of the team. These puppet shows were analyzed from the perspectives of 520 visitors, 6 museum docents and 12 volunteers via observations and questionnaires. The findings included that the puppet shows were enjoyable and memorable, especially for young children. Visitors thought that the puppet shows were easy to understand. They chose these words most often to describe them: genial, warm, popular, informative, interesting, entertaining and exciting. Museum docents felt that the puppet shows promoted learning, attracted visitors, had interesting stories, aroused curiosity, were memorable, had rich content, and provided innovative interpretation. A big challenge was to express both emotional content and scientific content through puppetry. Some of the museum docents felt that the puppet shows aroused the curiosity and interest of the audience and produced higher interest in museum tours. Such shows may not be as detailed as traditional learning guides, but they may be more effective. To conclude, this study may be of importance in documenting visitor and docent opinions regarding museum puppet shows, as well as providing museum professionals with new ideas on how to transform educational activities using museum theatre and puppetry. It might be useful for museum educators to be aware of the possibilities of innovative interpretation in science education.

在2006年，國立自然科學博物館為了「生命律動」特展而發展偶戲。經過三個月的籌備期，在當年暑假演出兩個月。研究者擔任此偶戲方案的負責人，演出工作委由博物館解說員及志工執行，我們共同合作以腦力激盪方式撰寫劇本、設計偶的造型、製作道具與場景。博物館解說員起初感到膽怯並懷疑自己的能力是否能擔綱，但是經過多次訓練之後有足夠的自信來執行演出任務。本研究旨在探討博物館偶戲的觀眾群、偶戲的特性、發展中面臨的困難及團隊的省思等。此研究紀錄520位觀眾、6位解說員與12位志工對於偶戲的意見。從觀察及問卷的資料，顯示觀眾認為偶戲是容易了解、有親切感、令人覺得溫馨、受歡迎的及具知識性。對於孩童觀眾格外覺得偶戲是令人愉快並幫助記憶。同樣地，解說員認為偶戲可以促進學習、具有吸引力、內含有趣的故事、可以激發好奇心、令人印象深刻，以及是創新的詮釋方式。在活動中解說員的工作模式從個人轉換為團隊合作。較大的挑戰是要藉由偶來傳遞科學知識及表達情感的世界。有些解說員認為偶戲可以喚起觀眾的好奇心與興趣，使之想進一步瞭解展覽內容。雖然偶戲可能不若傳統導覽解說能提供較為詳盡的內容，但或許是較為有效的學習方式。簡而言之，此研究提供博物館界有關觀眾與執行者對於展覽中偶戲的看法，以及如何將教育活動轉換為偶劇表演的相關經驗。這篇論文或許能提供博物館教育人員覺察科學教育中有其他新穎詮釋的可能性。

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