Taking Conservation on the Road: The TITÍ SHOW

To reach even more communities within the Caribbean region of Colombia, we created the TITÍ SHOW—a dynamic, traveling education program designed to bring conservation to life in memorable and culturally relevant ways. The TITÍ SHOW is built around a series of engaging modules that can be delivered in one-day visits, making each encounter impactful while allowing for repeated engagement throughout the year. Through this program, we aim to spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and inspire children and families to take personal actions that help protect cotton-top tamarins and their forests. By building emotional connections to these primates, we also work to reduce the desire to keep them as pets, promoting respect for wildlife and the habitats they depend on.

TITIRITIANDO: A Puppet Show with a Purpose

TITIRITIANDO is a lively, interactive puppet show designed to capture the hearts and minds of elementary school children and their families. As part of Proyecto Tití’s traveling TITÍ SHOW, this module uses humor, storytelling, and colorful characters to teach important conservation messages in a fun and memorable way. The show helps children learn about cotton-top tamarins, understand the harm caused by the illegal pet trade, and discover practical ways they can help protect this critically endangered species. Through emotional connection, empathy, and empowerment, TITIRITIANDO encourages young audiences to see cotton-top tamarins not as pets, but as wild animals that belong in the forest—and as part of Colombia’s natural heritage worth protecting.

What Children Learn During TITIRITIANDO

TITIRITIANDO is a 90-minute interactive puppet show that teaches elementary school children why cotton-top tamarins belong in the wild—not as pets. Led by “Biologist Kathe” and her curious cousin “Caro,” students journey to the forest and meet “Tito,” a charismatic cotton-top tamarin who shares his life story. Through local humor and relatable themes like family, freedom, and belonging, children learn how similar cotton-tops are to humans—and how much they suffer when taken from the wild. When Caro expresses a desire to bring a tamarin home, Tito gently explains the fear, loneliness, and illness tamarins experience in captivity. The story ends with a powerful message: the best way to love cotton-top tamarins is to protect them in their natural habitat. Students take pledges, sing songs, and learn nine specific actions they can take to protect tamarins and the forest they call home, helping them become confident, compassionate wildlife defenders.

Measuring the Impact of TITIRITIANDO

To ensure that TITIRITANDO is not only engaging but effective, Proyecto Tití evaluates the program’s success by measuring changes in children's knowledge, attitudes, and intentions related to cotton-top tamarins and the illegal pet trade. Through pre- and post-show assessments, we have found that children show a significant increase in understanding about the ecological role and emotional needs of cotton-top tamarins, and the harm caused by keeping them as pets.

Our findings demonstrate that the show fosters a strong emotional connection with the character “Tito,” leading to greater empathy and a clear shift in attitudes—with children expressing that tamarins should stay in the forest where they belong. After the performance, students are more likely to report that they would never want a cotton-top tamarin as a pet, and many commit to taking action, such as sharing what they learned with others and pledging to report illegal pet ownership. These results highlight TITIRITIANDO’s power to reduce the desire for wild pets by blending education, emotion, and culture into a memorable conservation experience that leaves a lasting impact.

TITI CUENTO: A Story of Courage, Conservation, and a Better Future

TITI CUENTO is a captivating storytelling module from Proyecto Tití's TITÍ SHOW that follows the inspiring journey of "Lucho", a spirited young boy from Colombia's Caribbean coast who dreams of saving his favorite animal—the cotton-top tamarin—from extinction. Told through the voice of a folklore narrator, the story begins with Lucho discovering the plight of cotton-top tamarins in his school and becoming deeply moved by their suffering in the illegal pet trade. When he witnesses someone trying to sell a tamarin in his town, he’s heartbroken and begins a personal mission to protect them.

Determined to make a difference, Lucho teaches his family and neighbors about the importance of keeping cotton-top tamarins wild. His efforts grow into a community movement, and he becomes a local conservation hero. Still wondering whether his actions are enough, Lucho uses his father's quirky invention—a time-travel helmet—to journey into the future. There, he meets his older self, who shows him a transformed world where cotton-top tamarins are no longer endangered, forests are thriving, and everyone has become a Salva Tití—a protector of tamarins and their habitat.

Through vibrant characters, humor, music, and emotional storytelling, children learn the harm of keeping tamarins as pets, the importance of forest conservation, and the many simple, meaningful actions they can take to become Salva Tití heroes themselves. The story ends with a powerful message: the future of cotton-top tamarins depends on the choices we make today.

Measuring the Impact of TITI CUENTO

Proyecto Tití evaluates the success of TITI CUENTO by measuring how the story influences children’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to cotton-top tamarins and their conservation. Assessments conducted before and after storytelling sessions show that children gain a deeper understanding of the threats facing cotton-top tamarins and the importance of protecting their natural habitat.

The story of Lucho—brought to life through the voice of a local folklore expert—helps children see themselves as part of the solution. After hearing his journey, students express greater empathy for cotton-top tamarins and a stronger sense of personal responsibility for their protection.

These outcomes demonstrate that TITI CUENTO not only captures children’s imaginations but also empowers them to become conservation advocates. By combining cultural storytelling, emotion, and education, it leaves a lasting impression that translates inspiration into action for the cotton-top tamarin’s future.