Museum Of The Moving Image Is Asking For $40K To Finish Muppets Exhibit

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The Museum of the Moving Image started a Kickstarter campaign Tuesday to collect $40,000 for a planned permanent Jim Henson exhibit.

The Henson family has donated hundreds of puppets and artifacts for the exhibit. The museum currently has 40 original puppets and 175 historic ones — among which are Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Elmo, and Cookie Monster. The exhibition will also feature puppet prototypes, original character sketches, behind-the-scenes footage and interactive puppetry design.

The museum has secured a grant from the city and has already constructed the gallery space that will house The Jim Henson Exhibition.

But the MoMI needs your help to complete the formidable task of restoring its collection of historic puppets, which it hopes to accomplish with the help of Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

The exhibition will be divided into four: Henson's early work for film and television section; Muppets section; Sesame Street section; and a section for the imaginary worlds of "Labyrinth," "Fraggle Rock" and "The Dark Crystal."

The museum already has space dedicated to Henson's work, including movie showings, and the museum has planned new education and family programs to be part of The Jim Henson Exhibition.

Among the plans is a traveling exhibition called The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited, which will tour around the U.S. and the world, beginning with the Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture on May 20.

Donate to the Museum here.

Puppeteer, screenwriter and director Jim Henson was the mastermind behind the shows, Sesame Street, and The Muppet Show, as well as the movies, Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, and The Dark Crystal. He died on May 16, 1990.

Lead image via Kickstarter campaign