Jim Henson is a true artistic American cultural icon. Most people know him as the creator and brains behind The Muppets, the most popular puppet troupe in history.
There’s a whole lot more to his story than The Muppets though and it’s all on display at The Jim Henson Exhibition titled, “Imagination Unlimited” which is currently featured at The Peoria Riverfront Museum.
I went to this magnificent exhibition last week and below are some photos from my fun and informative afternoon there.
Scroll down and take a sneaky peeky at the Jim Henson Exhibition!
They have a huge banner on the back of the building and there’s the front of the museum and the signage outside.
Hey, check out the “Welcome MBIP” on the sign! How did they know we were coming here today?
Okay, we’ll climb the stairs and enter through the front doors to…
The impressive lobby in here. I love the giant globe suspended from the ceiling and there’s the Jim Henson banner on the front screens in here.
Okay, all of our ducks are lined up, so let’s go check out this exhibition.
By the way, I’m quacking myself up over here!
There entrance to the exhibit, just inside this doorway. I live the opening artwork!
There’s the Jim Henson Introduction and a photo of Jim with one of his most famous puppets, Kermit the Frog.
And there’s the man…I mean, the frog himself, Kermit! Hi Kermit!
They have a lot of interactive displays in here and I tried this one out.
I was trying to make it work and it just kept telling me to “Practice.”
Plus it was giving me attitude in the upper right corner and showing off my giant forehead, so I finally quit and just moved along!
These displays show Jim Henson and The Muppets making their way on to national TV.
They started off with the show, Sam and Friends, that Henson created with Jane Nebel, whom he later married. Then The Muppets were featured on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, they made the cover of TV Guide with Ed Sullivan and there’s a Muppet on The Jimmy Dean Show.
Here’s some of the earlier Muppets stars and check out that last one, I’m not the only one in here with a camera!
Here’s some Jim Henson sketches and commercial storyboards.
The last one is an ad for Henson Associates also known as “ha!”
This looks like an interesting show created by Henson and it’s also a fun inside joke for my friend Karla!
She lives in Chicago and doesn’t read the blog, so this will be a good excuse to call her. We try and talk every six years or so whether we want to or not. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming!
Here’s some of the latter day Muppets featured on their TV show and Saturday Night Live.
The Muppets eventually moved on to the big screen and here’s some of their vintage movie posters on display along with some film cells from the movies.
And of course the grumpy balcony guys don’t like any of this!
One entire wall is covered with a fabulous montage of Muppet and Jim Henson memories and photos.
The gift shop has lots of fun Muppet and Jim Henson related goodies to check out.
And now it’s time to exit the grand lobby after a fun afternoon at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
The Jim Henson Exhibition runs till January 5th, 2025, so stop by and check it out! I just showed a sampling of the exhibition, there’s much more to be seen when you get there in person!
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222 SW Washington Street
Peoria
309-686-7000
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It’s time to meet The Muppets…
Surprise link, click on it…I dare you!
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Tomorrow Night: The Waugh’s & Raber’s Fish Fry and Hog Roast With Live Music By Cousin Eddie!
Tomorrow night is the continuation of the legendary Waugh Fish Fry, this year combined with a hog roast at Raber Packing Co! Check out all the information here and here and stop by this fun event tomorrow night!
There’s going to be great food, carnival games and live music from Cousin Eddie!