Preview: Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of Moving Image

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Bert and Ernie

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Drill Team Puppets

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image:

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Frackles

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Mahna Mahna

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Nutty Bird

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Cantus and Gobo

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Featherstone and Goshposh

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Rowlf

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  Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Sir Linit

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  “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” on view at Smithsonian’s International Gallery, July 12-Oct. 5, 2008. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution.

  Photograph: Courtesy Smithsonian Institution67.ar.67jimhenson16.jpg14531115

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Henson's Fantastic World at Museum of the Moving Image: Bert and Ernie

Photograph: John E. Barrett

a six-month-long exhibit devoted to the work of the late puppeteer, animator and director, opens on July 16 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. It lets families get an inside look at Henson’s creative process: “We’re showing how he came up with his ideas and shared his vision,” says Karen Falk, curator of the exhibition and archivist at the Jim Henson Company. On display are more than 120 sketches, drawings, storyboards and props—including Henson’s college drawings, 1960s experimental films and TV commercials—as well as original puppets from Sesame Street and the Muppets movies.

Children of all ages are sure to be inspired by looking at Henson’s earliest sketches and seeing how his work evolved into the highly polished creations we’re so familiar with today. “He created characters we can all relate to, and then worked very hard to make them physically expressive,” says Falk. “When you watch Sesame Street, you can really feel how much they all cared about each other.” (Perhaps that’s why Henson’s popular puppets have been making kids smile for so many decades.) Here are four things kids will love to do at the exhibit:

See the originals
Kids get a close-up view of 15 beloved puppets—Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, and Miss Piggy in her Muppets Take Manhattan dress among them.

Learn about the characters’ histories
Several of Henson’s now-famous creations had their beginnings in 1960s TV commercials. Rowlf the Dog was built in 1962 for a Purina Dog Chow spot; Cookie Monster originally gobbled snacks on camera for General Foods.

Watch classic films
The museum will offer 1pm matinees each weekend, screening Muppets movies, Sesame Street segments, and Henson-directed works like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. Clips of films that showcase Henson’s wild creations, including Little Shop of Horrors and The Witches, will be shown as well. While not confirmed yet, the museum hopes to host a special screening of Disney’s The Muppets, in which Kermit the Frog and his friends try to save their beloved theater, when it opens this fall.

Get creative with puppets
Children learn what it takes to create a televised puppet show during special weekend family classes. On the agenda: puppet making and animation workshops.

is on view July 16–Jan 16, 2012 at the Museum of the Moving Image.