Lunar New Year Dragon

My goal when creating this puppet was to contribute to my school’s celebration of the Lunar New Year and bring people together using puppetry. It turned out to be bigger than I thought it would be, in more ways than one. This 24 foot long dragon puppet, controlled by seven students, paraded through the halls of the Wyoming Seminary Lower School and across the stage of the Upper School, attracting many stares and suprising the entire orchestra on stage as it did so. However, before it was a fully formed dragon, it was a pile of math homework and a few dozen cardboard boxes.

I used cardboard as the basic building block of the head and body segments, over which I applied all of the homework I had received the previous year in the form of multiple layers of paper mache. Then, I painted and decorated, using two halves of a Christmas ornament to make the eyes.

Although it is fun to be able to say that I brought a dragon to school, the most regarding part of the project was seeing how it brought the school community together. The help and collaboration I received from multiple clubs at my school as well as the wider community not only brought the puppet to life, but also took it to both campuses and community events. 

Lunar New Year Celebration 2025, Wyoming Seminary Lower School