Educational Workshops - Trash Puppet Making Workshops

Trash Puppets offers a uniquely fun way for teachers and students to get hands on with sustainability.

Our workshops teach participants the basics of puppetry and offer guidance on construction, mechanisms, and performance. We are not prescriptive with the creative process, instead, our team offers positive creative experiences for all. With this foundation, we support participants to bring their own unique, trash puppet to life.

Home-sourced recyclables form a core part of our 'recycle and reduce' experience. By collecting materials for the workshop from home, students gain a more holistic understanding of their own impact on the Earth (through what’s being thrown away at home) and of their personal part to play in sustainability (through recycling, reducing, and reusing). 

All trash puppet workshops use 100% recycled/ reused materials. No paint or glue needed.

Educational Performances - Incursion Shows

Trash Puppets have shows that tour into schools, with strong links with curriculum sustainability requirements and come with a detailed Education Kit, with suggested pre and post incursion activities for the Class Room.

Our popular original show “Trash with a Porpoise” is touring into schools in Term 4, with availability now from December, 2025. The show is suitable for Prep to Grade 6 and can be performed for up to 80 kids at a time.

This fun, sketch comedy show will stimulate conversations about sustainability, inspire critical thinking about how humans impact our natural environment & empower children to take small important steps to better care for our wildlife, through simple tasks like recycling.

The show links in with key Curriculum themes including Sustainability, protecting our oceans, choosing to see value in everything, taking action for change, finding one’s purpose, and learning through participation.

If you are a school or kinder teacher wanting a show incursion prior to December 2025, Packed House Productions are also touring another great show called “The Wobbly Wallaby,” based on the Australian book The Wobbly Wallaby and the Absolute Bandicoot, by local Melbourne Author - Prema Nishan. This show has a focus on emotional awareness, empathy, and celebrating neurodiversity - featuring puppets and live music. It runs for 40 minutes duration (and is perfect for ages 3-8) with some availability in October and November. For more information, please click here or email Jen to book.

Primary Schools

We tailor our workshops to the grade of students participating. 

Our Schools' Workshops:

• encourage creative, reflective, and critical thinking,

• get students solving complex supply and design problems,

• offer opportunities to plan, experiment, take risks, and question,

• impart meaningful puppetry knowledge, puppet-making technique,

• give tangible experience of core sustainability principles,

• build confidence in personal creative expression.

Workshop duration: 90 minutes

Cost: Varies depending on group size and school location.

 *Note: We offer discounts for multiple workshops.

We also offer our trash puppet making workshops for secondary schools, which are particularly effective in the lower-secondary age bracket.

Our workshops are offered “"On call” (dependant on artist availability), but allow a minimum of 3 weeks from contact to workshop delivery, to allow sufficient time for your class to collect the trash from home and bring it into school for your workshop session. We will provide you with a handout for parents to know what to collect and bring in to school for the workshop.

Early learning centres

Kinder kids love the tactile experience of Trash Puppets! With this age group, we aim for each child to create a glove puppet. For groups with children under 4, we recommend parents work as a team with their child to create their puppet.

Workshop duration: 60min

Cost: Varies depending on group size and centre location.

 Our workshops are offered “"On call” (dependant on artist availability), but allow a minimum of 3 weeks from contact to workshop delivery, to allow sufficient time for your class to collect the trash from home and bring it into school for your workshop session. We will provide you with a handout for parents to know what to collect and bring in for the workshop.

Teachers Professional development

We love helping teachers get creative! 

The Trash Puppets experience for teachers includes a tailored version of our puppet making workshop, alongside time for reflection and discussion.

Our workshop is a great stand-alone activity, or as part of a training day.

Cost: Varies depending on location and group size.