Next week would have been Jim Henson’s 90th birthday.
And instead of marking the occasion with a quiet cake and a few candles, fans are getting four days of puppets, music, Muppets, collectibles, costumes and general Henson-style chaos.
Jim Henson was born on September 24, 1936. To celebrate what would have been his 90th birthday, New York’s Museum of the Moving Image is holding a huge celebration from September 24 through September 27, 2026.
For Muppet fans, this is shaping up to be one of the biggest Henson events of the year.
And it begins exactly one week from today.
Jim Henson’s 90th Birthday Is Becoming a Full Weekend Event
The Museum of the Moving Image already has a special connection to Jim Henson.
Its permanent Jim Henson Exhibition explores Henson’s work in television and film. Visitors can see around 50 characters connected to productions including The Muppet Show, the Muppet movies and Sesame Street.
For Henson’s 90th birthday, however, the museum is going much bigger.
The four-day celebration includes screenings, puppetry events, fan art, workshops, live performances, panels, collectibles and even a costume contest.
If that sounds familiar, we previously took a deeper look at the plans in Countdown to Henson 90: Ultimate Queens Bash. Read our earlier Henson 90 preview
Now the countdown is almost over.
The Muppet Show Gets a Birthday Marathon
Naturally, you cannot celebrate Jim Henson without letting Kermit attempt to keep a theatre full of lunatics under control.
Throughout the birthday celebration, the museum will screen The Muppet Show: The Very Best Episodes.
The marathon features ten episodes chosen by fans as the show’s best. It also arrives during another major milestone: The Muppet Show’s 50th anniversary.
There will also be screenings of The Muppet Show: 50 Greatest Moments on Saturday and Sunday.
So yes, anyone travelling to Queens should probably prepare to hear a lot of terrible Fozzie jokes.
Wocka wocka.
And possibly explosions.
Speaking of which, our recent look at Crazy Harry’s explosive history is a good reminder of just how much beautiful chaos Henson managed to squeeze into The Muppet Show. Meet Crazy Harry and his detonator
The Swa(m)p Meet Is Basically a Treasure Hunt for Henson Fans
One of the most wonderfully named events is the Swa(m)p Meet: Henson Collectibles Marketplace.
It runs on both Saturday and Sunday.
Collectors and vendors will gather to show and sell pieces from their Henson collections.
For longtime fans, that could mean anything from vintage Muppet merchandise to the type of strange collectible you absolutely did not need until you saw it sitting on a table.
Then suddenly you need it.
Immediately.
The museum has also become an important home for preserving Muppet fan history itself. Earlier this year, all 20 issues of the classic fan publication MuppetZine were donated to its permanent collection.
Read how MuppetZine entered the Museum archive
Henson Performers Will Talk About Jim’s Legacy
Saturday also brings together several performers whose careers are connected to Henson’s creative world.
The panel Inspired by Jim: The Henson Performance Legacy will feature Martin P. Robinson, Ryan Dillon, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, John Tartaglia and Jennifer Barnhart.
The puppeteers will discuss Henson’s influence and how his approach continues to shape the puppetry community today.
That may be one of the most interesting parts of the weekend.
Jim Henson died in 1990, but the creative approach he developed is still being passed from performer to performer.
The characters continue.
The puppetry continues.
And new generations keep discovering the work.
We explored that wider influence in our feature on Jim Henson’s enduring legacy, from Sesame Street and The Muppet Show to Fraggle Rock and his technical innovations. Explore Jim Henson’s enduring legacy
There Will Be Plenty of Music Too
Music was always a huge part of Henson’s work, and the birthday weekend reflects that.
Jim Henson’s Harmonious Hoopla will take place on Thursday and Friday.
The live show features Henson performers Jordan Brownlee, Aymee Garcia and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph performing music connected to Henson’s films and television shows. The production also includes a live band and puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
Heather Henson is also part of the celebration with a Sing-Along & Stroll-Along, while Sunday’s events include a choir performance of “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” and a Henson sing-along presented by the American Banjo Museum.
Apparently simply singing “Happy Birthday” was not going to cut it.
Good.
Even Jim Henson’s Stranger Work Gets Some Love
One reason Henson remains so interesting is that his career was much bigger than the characters everyone immediately recognizes.
Before Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock, Henson spent years experimenting with television, commercials, puppetry and new ways of combining performers with cameras.
That experimenting never really stopped.
Just recently, we looked back at the bizarre La Choy Dragon, one of Henson’s early commercial creations. Discover Jim Henson’s strange La Choy Dragon
We also explored Puppetman, Henson’s largely forgotten 1987 sitcom pilot that tried mixing puppetry with a traditional family and workplace comedy. Read about Jim Henson’s forgotten Puppetman pilot
That constant experimentation may be one reason his work still feels alive decades later.
Jim Henson at 90
Jim Henson never reached 90.
He died on May 16, 1990, at only 53 years old.
Yet nearly four decades later, thousands of people still gather around the characters, stories and ideas he helped create.
Children still discover Sesame Street.
Families still watch the Muppets.
People are still dancing their cares away with Fraggle Rock.
Puppeteers are still studying his techniques.
And grown adults will apparently still cross state lines for the opportunity to buy an old Muppet lunchbox at something called the Swa(m)p Meet.
That seems like a pretty good legacy.
The Jim Henson 90th birthday celebration begins September 24 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York, and continues through September 27. Some events are free, while others require museum admission, advance reservations or separate tickets.
See the official Jim Henson 90th birthday schedule
For those of us who cannot make the trip to New York, there is still one obvious way to celebrate.
Watch something Jim made.
Laugh at something ridiculous.
Sing along even if nobody asked you to.
And maybe avoid saying the word “dynamite” if Crazy Harry is anywhere nearby.