Chicken Little Investigates

Chicken Little Investigates is a delightful blending of science and storytelling. Just like Sir Isaac Newton, Chicken Little discovers gravity! In this version, Chicken Little and her friends experiment, track their data, and go to the king so he can name this important new discovery. On their way to the king, Foxy Woxy traps Chicken Little and her friends. They use gravity to free themselves. After watching or performing this play, children will be inspired to do their own gravity.

Lois Wickstrom is a former high school chemistry teacher and former head science teacher at Science in the City Summer Camp in Philadelphia. She has also been an adjunct science teacher at the University of South Florida. Since retiring, she continues to take science classes. Her class in Forensic Biology led to Little Red, The Detective, in which Red is studying fingerprint identification, so she can tell that “Grandma” isn’t who she says she is. Lois believes science is the solution to almost every problem, including the dilemmas in fairy tales. She has invented what she calls Science Folktales. In each science-based tale, the protagonist achieves a better ending than the original because of learning scientific principles. She has turned some of these tales into plays. She has also created a series of Mermaid Science stories, which make use of water science. Lois is married to the love of her life. She has two children, four grandchildren, and a dog.

This script also includes:

A science vocabulary list pertaining to the play.
Ten extension activities to use with your group.

More science-drama integration scripts by Lois Wickstrom:

Huff, Puff, Grind-The Three Little Pigs Get Smart
Goldilocks and the Six Simple Machines

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS
CHICKEN LITTLE
HENNY PENNY
DUCKY LUCKY
GOOSEY LOOSEY
TURKEY LURKEY
FOXY WOXY
KING or QUEEN
SOUND EFFECTS
WISE PERSON Acts as the narrator. Goes unseen by the animals.

Setting: The setting can be simple or elaborate. There are three important places: The Woods, The Palace, and Foxy Woxy’s Den.

(Chicken Little and Henny Penny are walking through the woods. Chicken Little bends down to smell flowers. Henny Penny keeps walking. Wise Person is hiding behind a tree.)

Chicken Little:
Hey, Henny Penny, these flowers smell great!

Henny Penny:
Thanks, Chicken Little. I’ll be right there.

(Henny Penny turns around and weaves towards Chicken Little, who continues to smell the flowers. Henny Penny does not notice the Wise Person.)

Wise Person:
(To audience) I’m the King’s Wise Person. The King has sent me to discover the best detectives in all the land. Chicken Little is one of the cleverest creatures in the kingdom. I wonder what he’ll do if I drop an acorn on her head when she can’t see me.

(Wise Person drops an acorn on Chicken Little’s head. It rolls off and lands on the ground but goes unnoticed by Chicken Little. Consider using a sound effect as the acorn plops on Chicken Little’s head.)

Chicken Little:
Ouch!

Henny Penny
What’s Wrong?

Chicken Little:
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! And some of it fell on my head!

Henny Penny:
I didn’t feel anything.

Wise Person:
Now we’ll get to see how Chicken Little thinks. She’s a clever one.

Chicken Little:
Let’s investigate. We’ll have to do experiments and keep track of our data.
(Chicken Little and Henny Penny look up at the sky. Chicken Little gets out a notebook and pencil from under her wing.)

Henny Penny:
I see clouds and birds, just like always.

Chicken Little:
I don’t see anything falling. But something fell on my head! That’s a fact.

(Chicken Little pats her head.)

I’m getting a bump on my head.

(Chicken Little bends her head towards Henny Penny to show her the bump.)

See! Something hit me. This bump is evidence.

(Chicken Little turns around, continuing to look at the ground. She sees the acorn. She picks it up and shows it to Henny Penny.)

This might be what hit me. Now we have a hypothesis.

Henny Penny:
Hypothesis?

Chicken Little:
Yes, an educated guess. Let’s see what happens.