Jim Henson’s The Muppets!!!

Have you seen “The Muppets” movie yet? I went to check it out last week and loved it! I used to watch the muppets all the time growing up and one of my favorite Christmas movies is “A Muppet Christmas Carol”. And who didn’t love Fraggle Rock?!

“Jim Henson and his puppets made their television debut in 1958, on a local station in Washington, D.C. Throughout the 1960s, Henson and the Muppets rose to national prominence on variety shows, talk shows, and Sesame Street. This led to the phenomenally successful The Muppet Show in the 1970s and a series of feature films, including The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Great Muppet Caper. In the 1980s, Henson explored new directions in television and film with series like Fraggle Rock and The Storyteller and films like Labyrinth.” ~ Museum of the Moving Image

If you want to see more of The Muppets go check the exhibit Jim Henson’s Fantastic World at the Museum of the Moving Imagein Queens. The exhibition opened on July 16th of this year and will continue until January 16, 2012. I haven’t been yet, but I have plans to go before it closes.

“Jim Henson’s Fantastic World celebrates the internationally known creative genius Jim Henson, whose work encompassed film, television, and puppetry. The exhibition features over 120 artifacts, including drawings, storyboards, and props, all of which illustrate Henson’s boundless creativity and innumerable accomplishments.

Fifteen iconic puppets, including Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Rowlf, and Bert and Ernie, are on view, along with photographs of Henson and his collaborators at work and excerpts from his early projects and experimental films. The exhibition spans Henson’s entire career, with drawings, cartoons, and posters produced during his college years in the late 1950s and objects related to the inspired imaginary world of his popular 1982 fantasy film, The Dark Crystal. The exhibition features artifacts from Henson’s best-known projects, The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie and its sequels, Fraggle Rock, and Sesame Street, in addition to materials from Sam and Friends, an early show he created in the 1950s, and his pioneering television commercial work in the 1960s.” ~Museum of the Moving Image

The Muppets and Jim Henson

Every weekend the museum will present public programs related to the exhibition for audiences of all ages, including screenings, hands-on workshops, and exclusive special events with personal appearances by Henson’s close collaborators and family members. Guided tours of are offered every Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and last 30 minutes.

Museum of the Moving Image – it is the only museum dedicated to the art, history, technique, and technology of the moving image in all of its forms.

Location: 36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11106

Hours of Operation:

• Tuesday – Thursday 10:30am – 5:00pm
• Friday 10:30am – 8:00pm (Free admission from 4-8pm)
• Saturday – Sunday 10:30am – 7:00pm

Holiday hours: The Museum will be open on Mondays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on December 26 and January 2. On Christmas Eve (December 24) and New Year’s Eve (December 31) the galleries will close at 5:00 p.m. The Museum is closed on Christmas Day (December 25).

Admission:

• Adults: $12
• Senior Citizens and College Students w/ ID: $9
• Children 3-18: $6

(Free for museum members and children under 3, teachers w/ valid ID, and active-duty military personnel)

Getting There By Subway:

From Manhattan

• Take the M (weekdays only) or R to Steinway Street. Use the 34 Avenue exit near the end of train. Walk south along Steinway Street; turn right on 35 Avenue. Proceed three blocks to Museum entrance just past 37 Street
• Take the E to Queens Plaza. Change to the M (weekdays only) or R and proceed to Steinway Street. Follow the directions from the 34 Avenue exit as detailed above
• Take the Q (weekdays only) or N to 36 Avenue (Astoria). Walk one block north to 35 Avenue. Turn right and walk to the Museum entrance between 36 and 37 streets

From Brooklyn

• Take the G (weekdays only) to LIC-Court Square/45 Road. Transfer via underground tunnel to the M train at Court Square/23 Street-Ely Avenue and proceed to Steinway Street
• Take the Q (weekdays only) or the N to 36 Avenue (Astoria). Walk one block north to 35 Avenue. Turn right and walk to the Museum entrance between 36 and 37 streets
• Take the R to Steinway Street. Use the 34 Avenue exit near the end of train. Walk south along Steinway Street; turn right on 35 Avenue. Proceed three blocks to Museum entrance just past 37 Street

From Eastern Queens

• Take the 7 to 74 Street and Roosevelt Avenue. Walk downstairs to the E and R lines. Take the Manhattan- or Brooklyn-bound R to Steinway Street. Use the 34 Avenue exit near front of the train. Walk south along Steinway Street; turn right on 35 Avenue. Proceed two blocks to Museum entrance, just past 37 Street

Click here for directions on getting there by car if you plan to drive.