Have a large stuffed gorilla or chimp or some other ape.

Have the ape ask the class of children certain questions.  I did this by recording these questions in advance, using an ape-like voice.  I then played back the questions, pausing after each one so that the students could answer the questions one at a time.

Here are the questions that the ape asked with the correct answers in parenthesis:

Hello boy and girls. My name is Mr. Chimpy. Today I have some questions for you. My first question is this: What kind of animal am I?  (Mammal, ape, not a monkey)

What is the difference between an ape and a monkey? (Monkey’s have tails; apes do not.)

Did I evolve millions of years ago from a simple one-celled animal? (No, you were created by God.)

In many ways I look a lot like humans; doesn’t this prove that humans evolved from ape-like creatures? (No, similarities do not necessarily indicate close relationship. For example, a car made by Ford may look similar in many ways to a car made by Toyota, but this does not mean that these two cars are closely related. They were actually made by two completely separate companies.  However, both of these cars were made with similar designs. Both cars need four wheels, a steering wheel, an air-conditioning system, a brake system, a gas tank, etc.  So also apes and humans have many common features:  two eyes, two ears, two arms, two legs, a circulatory system, a digestive system, etc.  And yet there are also significant differences between apes and people as some of these other questions will reveal.)

Who made me? (The Lord Jesus Christ–Col. 1:16; John 1:3)

On what day of creation did God make me? (Day 6)

What other creatures were made on Day 6? (Land animals and man)

Did humans and apes evolve from other ape-like creatures? (No, both people and apes were created on the same day. One did not evolve from the other.).

How did I survive the great flood that covered the entire earth for about a year? (God chose two of your kind and they were put in the ark.)

How am I different from you when it comes to walking? (Even though they can stand on two feet, apes normally walk on all fours; people walk on their two feet and do not use their arms for walking.)

How am I different from you when it comes to my brain? (The ape’s brain is half the size of a human brain or even smaller.)

How am I different from you when it comes to my arms? (The ape’s arms are much longer, in proportion to its body, because he uses them in walking.)

How am I different from you when it comes to my thumb? (The ape cannot put his thumb opposite all of this fingers. Humans can do this and it greatly helps in using tools and doing things with their hands that apes can never do. Also apes have thumbs on their feet to help with climbing; humans do not.)

How am I different from you when it comes to expressing happiness? (Apes cannot smile; you can tell an ape the best joke in the world and it will not laugh.)

How am I different from you when it comes to clothing? (Apes do not wear clothing.)

How am I different from man when it comes to idolatry? (Apes never make idols and never worship idols.)

How am I different from man when it comes to prayer? (Apes never pray to God; no ape as ever said, “Thank You Lord.”)

How am I different from man when it comes to sin? (Apes do not sin against God; they just follow their instincts.)

How am I different from man when it comes to Calvary’s cross? (Jesus died for mankind; He did not die for the sins of animals).

Boys and girls, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope you will take time each day to do two things that I can never do: 1) read your Bible; 2) pray to your Heavenly Father. I’ll say good-bye for now!