Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Royce Circle, Suite 101B, Storrs, Connecticut, United States |
| Type | Art museum |
| Owner | University of Connecticut |
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry (BIMP) is a special public museum in Storrs, Connecticut. It is run by the University of Connecticut. This museum is all about the art of puppetry.
Contents
What You'll Discover at BIMP
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry has one of the largest puppet collections in the United States. It holds over 2,500 puppets from all over the world.
Amazing Puppet Collections
You can see many different types of puppets here. These include marionettes (puppets moved by strings). There are also glove puppets (worn on your hand). You will find rod puppets (moved with rods). The museum also has shadow puppets and even body puppets. Besides puppets, you can see materials used to build puppet stages.
The Kay Janney Library and Archives
BIMP also has a huge collection of videos and recordings about puppetry. This is called the Puppeteers of America’s Audio-Visual Collection. It has over 700 items related to puppets. The Kay Janney Library and Archives also holds more than 2,500 books. You can find scripts, old papers, news clippings, and posters there. This library helps people research the history of puppet theater worldwide. Researchers can visit by making an appointment.
Fun Events and Activities
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry is more than just a place to see puppets. They host exciting puppet festivals often. You can also see special exhibits and live puppet shows. For example, they hosted the big National Puppetry Festival in 2015.
Learn to Make Puppets
BIMP also teaches workshops where you can learn to make your own puppets! The museum takes part in local parades and other fun community events.
About the Founders and Leaders
The Institute is named after Frank W. Ballard (1929-2010). He was a very important person in puppetry. Mr. Ballard started the first college programs for puppetry in the United States. These programs are at the University of Connecticut.
Current Leadership
The managing director of BIMP is John Bell. He used to be a member of the Bread and Puppet Theater company. He is also a professor of Dramatic Arts at UConn's School of Fine Arts.
Museum's Location History
The Ballard Institute used to be on UConn's Depot Campus. In 2014, it moved to the new Storrs Center. It now shares its space with a Barnes & Noble store.
Unique Puppetry Program
The University of Connecticut is the only place in the United States that offers a master's degree in puppetry. This shows how special and important BIMP is.
