The latest donations to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will include puppets created by the late Jim Henson, including the original Kermit the Frog..
A total of 10 Henson-created puppets will be donated to the museum, including Henson’s oldest surviving puppet, Pierre the French Rat, which was created in a comic strip that Henson drew for his high school yearbook in 1954.
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According to the Smithsonian, the original Kermit joining its collection has ping pong balls for eyes and was made from a green-felt coat discarded by Henson’s mother.
As a fan of the Muppets, Sesame Street and Jim Henson, as well as a big frog fan, I think it’s great that the original Kermit will now become part of the Smithsonian’s collection. Kermit can be seen in the performance of “I’m In Love With A Big Blue Frog” from the Muppet Show, so there’s kind of a “degrees of separation” thing going on here.
