The creator of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Bert, Ernie, Big Bird and many other beloved “Muppets” will be honored later this month in Astoria.
Jim Henson, the beloved puppeteer who produced “The Muppet Show,” will receive a special birthday celebration at the Museum of Moving Image with a number of educational activities for children.
The museum will host Family Fall Day on Sept. 26 and families will get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to create puppets, along with screenings of two shows produced by The Jim Henson Company.
From 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., kids will be able to build paper-bag puppets using several materials, design Henson-inspired characters and perform puppet karaoke at the museum’s Digital Learning Suite.
Scenes from episodes of “Dinosaur Train” and “Sid the Science Kid,” two children’s shows produced by The Jim Henson Company, will screen several times throughout the day and the 40-minute compilation will also include a behind-the-scenes clip about digital puppetry techniques used in “Sid the Science Kid.”
Adults and children 10 and up can also purchase tickets to a conversation with Rollie Krewson, a longtime Henson Creature Shop puppet designer and builder.
Henson began designing puppets in high school and created a five-minute sketch comedy puppet show while in college called “Sam and Friends.” He joined “Sesame Street” in 1970 and was responsible for developing characters for the show during his 20-year tenure. He also created puppets for movies like “Fraggle Rock,” “The Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth.”
Henson, who died in 1990, would have been 78 on Sept. 24.
Museum admission for children 12 and under is free. The museum is located at 36-01 35th Ave. Click here for more information.
