Animal Skits

Skits are a form of American folklore. For more than a hundred years, children have been gathering at camps, with scout troupes, church groups, and in their backyards to come up with short stories to act out. Skits can offer a creative way to put on a show without having to stage a full-scale production. Many skits are written so that much of the action can be improvised or lines ad-libbed, leaving room for individual creativity!

Sample skit:

The Zoo-venture

Try This:

• Consider having other kids become zoo animals.
• Another idea would be to have the audience become the zoo animals.

(Scene: The entrance of the zoo. Mia, Jake, and Olivia are standing near the ticket booth, ready for a day of fun.)

Mia: (excitedly) I love the zoo! This is going to be the best day ever!

Jake: (holding a map) I’m kind of an animal expert so I’ve planned our route to see all the coolest animals. Are you ready for the ultimate zoo-venture?

Olivia: (a bit shy) Um, yeah. I guess so. I’ve never been to a zoo before.

Mia: (grinning) What? You’re gonna love this! Let’s start with the lions.

(The trio makes their way to the lion enclosure. Mia is bouncing with excitement, Jake is sharing interesting facts, and Olivia is quietly taking in the sights.)

Jake: (pointing) Check out the lions. Fun fact, they can eat 25 pounds of food a day.

Mia: (imitating a lion) Roar! (Lions roar back and scare them off to the next animals.)

(As they move to the next exhibit, featuring giraffes, Olivia starts to gain confidence.)

Jake: Here are the giraffes.

Olivia: (curious) Why do giraffes have such long necks?

Jake: (enthusiastically) Fun fact, their long necks help them reach leaves high up in the trees. It’s like having your snack on the top shelf!

(The trio continues exploring, encountering playful monkeys, slithering snakes, and colorful birds.)

Jake: And now the monkeys!

Mia: (imitating a monkey with sound and movement. Consider mirroring movement and sound)

Jake: Fun fact, there are about 200 species of monkeys.

Olivia: (smiling) They’re so funny. Look at that one. (Pointing to an audience member)

(The highlight of their day comes when they reach the penguin exhibit.)

Jake: (excitedly) Here are the penguins. Fun fact, a group of penguins on land is called a waddle.

Mia: (mockingly waddling) Waddle, waddle, waddle!

(The kids burst into laughter, mimicking the penguins’ adorable walk.)

Olivia: (giggling) This is so fun!

Mia: We can’t leave without visiting the elephants.

(The trio heads towards the elephant enclosure. The kids are in awe as they watch the gentle giants.)

Jake: Fun fact about elephants. They are very intelligent and can pick up a grain of rice with their trunk.

Olivia: (whispering) They’re huge!

Jake: We can’t leave without seeing the bears. Fun fact, bears hibernate for up to 8 months.

Olivia: Really? I wonder how long these guys have been asleep?

Jake: Good question. Let me investigate. (Jake goes off stage. We hear him scream.)

Mia: (smiling) Fun fact. I guess those bears aren’t hibernating.

(They laugh as they run off stage)

CURTAIN