Muppet Central News - Original Muppets come home to Washington

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jim Henson’s iconic Muppets and Kermit the Frog, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and its Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation present “Muppets and Mechanisms: Jim Henson’s Legacy,” opening May 19. Two special displays will feature Henson’s earliest Muppet work—on view for the first time at the museum—as well as his later work in animatronics.

“Jim Henson embodied the innovation and ingenuity that is inherent in American culture,” said Brent D. Glass, director of the museum. “Beyond the entertainment value Henson’s creations provided, his work helped educate and inform his audiences, an influence that continues today.”

Pictured here are the original "Sam and Friends" Muppets as they appear in the Smithsonian. Many other Henson characters from the years are also on display.

In 1955, Henson’s “Sam and Friends” debuted on local D.C. station WRC-TV, which introduced the American audience to Muppets and launched what would become a global phenomenon. “Sam and Friends” featured a number of unique, zany characters from the titular Sam to the first Kermit, a lizard-like creature made from a green felt coat discarded by Henson’s mother. Ten of the characters from “Sam and Friends,” including Henson’s oldest surviving creation Pierre, will be on display at the museum, adjacent to the “American Popular Culture” displays on the third floor.

Also on view will be a number of characters from “The Muppet Show” and other Muppet specials and movies that were originally voiced by Henson himself, including a Kermit the Frog from 1969, Rowlf the Dog, the Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth and the Banjo Player from the Country Trio, which is actually a self-portrait of Henson.

Jim Henson’s contribution to puppeteering and entertainment extends beyond the characters themselves to technology as Henson and his “Creature Shops” pioneered uses of animatronics, or remote-controlled Muppets. This animatronic technology was a prominent component of a number of Henson projects, including the 1982 film “The Dark Crystal.” On view in cases outside the Lemelson Center on the museum’s first floor will be characters from “The Dark Crystal,” including the film’s villain Skeksis, as well as examples of animatronic technology.

Jim Henson came up with the word Muppet in the mid-1950s. Seemingly a combination of puppet and marionette, Henson insisted that he chose the term simply because he liked the way it sounded. Central to the design of a Muppet is the way its face is constructed, creating a pattern with the eyes, nose and mouth called “the magic triangle.” This establishes a point of focus essential in bringing a puppet to life in the eye of a TV or movie camera.

The National Museum of American History collects, preserves and displays American heritage through exhibitions and public programs about social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Documenting the American experience from colonial times to the present, the museum looks at growth and change in the United States. The museum, located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the summer beginning May 26 and continuing through Sept. 4. The museum will close for major renovations beginning Sept. 5. Admission is free. For more information, visit the museum’s Web site at or call (202) 633-1000, (202) 357-1729 (TTY).

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MORE HENSON NEWS

• Sid the Science Kid special airs October 26
• Jim Henson's Dinoaur Train premieres September 7
• Dark Crystal and Labyrinth arrive on Blu-ray September 29
• Emmet Otter musical debuts at Goodspeed Opera House
• Houston Henson screenings December 5-7
• The Christmas Toy comes to DVD
• Henson announces Emmet Otter musical
• Henson's "Sid the Science Kid" coming to PBS in September

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Fan site Muppet Central created by Phillip Chapman. Multimedia design by James V. Carroll. Updates by Muppet Central Staff. All Muppets, Bear characters and photos are copyright of the Muppets Holding Company. Sesame Street characters and photos are copyright of Sesame Workshop. Fraggle Rock, Creature Shop and similar likenesses are copyright of The Jim Henson Company.