It's Time to Play the Music...

One of the most awesome benefits of living in a major metropolitan area is the overabundance of amazing museums.  In the greater LA area, there's a museum for everything - every sort of art you can imagine, history of all types of peoples and places and things (sloths and space and tar pits, oh my!), and smaller spots focused on a myriad of various and sundry things.  We're slowly working our way through a good selection of the museums, checking out both their normal collections and any cool exhibits that may come along as well.

We hadn't yet had a chance to check out the Skirball Cultural Center, so when I heard about its special exhibition this summer - focused on the art and works of Jim Henson - I figured it was about time to head north on the 405.  The Skirball is named after Jack and Audrey Skirball, and its main focus is being a cultural center rooted in the Jewish traditions of education and welcoming all who would like to learn.

Outside the Skirball Center -

it's a lovely spot

We started out our day in normal Olsen family fashion, biking and running (I should just make a macro for that phrase, shouldn't I?), and for lunch, we headed up to Culver City to Honey's Kettle, a local fried chicken institution.  It was just as delicious as we'd read, and it was located in a really cute area of Culver City; the next time we pass through that way, we might have to stop in and check it out further.

We made it to the Skirball around 12:30, and after a quick pass through their onsite parking garage, we found the electric car chargers, which, like the parking, were totally free!  Score!  We purchased our admission tickets ($12 each for adults) and waded into the fray.  On the way to the Jim Henson exhibit, we stopped to visit the other special currently at the museum celebrating Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday; as a former musician, it was cool to see the music legend's clothes, original scores, backstage photos, and the like.

We couldn't contain ourselves any longer, so we hustled around the corner to what originally brought us to the Skirball:

The exhibit was so neat - tons of good information about Henson's start in entertainment, how he met his wife in puppetry class in college (of course he did), and cool sketches of puppets that never saw the light of day.  I'll be honest, though, our main attraction - as well of that of many of the attendees, it seemed - were these guys:

We haven't met many celebrities in this area so far,

but it'll be hard to top Kermit.

Fun fact - this Kermit puppet is the same age as Chris;

they were both born in 1978.

You can give opinions on who has held up better.

The exhibit was in one giant room, divided into sections, each focusing on one of the seminal works of Henson's career - Kermit was right up front (in the "early history" section) - and Sesame Street was right after that.

We saw puppets of Bert and Ernie and the Count,

but I had to grab a shot with Grover.

He was always my favorite growing up.

See?  Yup, that's me and my Grover,

many, many moons ago.

Pretty darn cute, right?
Look at my arm rolls!

A special thanks to Mom for finding these shots

and sending me copies - 

she's still unpacking from a move a few months back,

so I know this wasn't super convenient.

This part of the room segued into The Muppet Show, and Chris and I couldn't resist asking the docent on duty to get some snaps of us with its iconic backdrop:

Hopefully, you recognized the opening line of the theme song

in the blog title way up there.

If you didn't, we might not be able to be friends anymore.

Unless you didn't grow up in the states.

Then you get a pass.

"Meep!"

Always wanted to be in science, that one.

There's also a Scooter puppet in the back of this shot - see him?

We were both bummed Gonzo wasn't on display.

After the room with The Muppet Show, we rounded a corner and found ourselves in a space dedicated to Henson projects from a bit later - Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.  Although the exhibit had so much good information on so many things, I got the most enjoyment out of it ruminating on how the work of one single, talented person really defined my childhood.  Some of my friends growing up were Disney kids, and that was completely well and good (I saw all the movies that came out during that time, sure), but for me, it was always Jim Henson shows I loved the most.  As it turned out, Chris felt the same, so chalk up another win in the "eternal soulmates" column, I suppose.

Anywhoo, lest things get too navel-gazing around these parts, here's a few Fraggles:

That's a puppeteer headset in the front of the case.

One of the neatest things on display was a picture

taken behind the scenes, where all of the pupeteers

were holding the puppets aloft for a Sesame Street sketch - 

the windows in the room for the sketch were about 7 feet off the ground,

to coincide with how tall the puppets would be,

which was such a neat perspective.

There were plenty of props from Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, too, but since they weren't my jam growing up (too scary for me - I'm a wimp when it comes to stuff like that - always have been), I didn't take shots of them.  Instead, I preferred to smash my face against the round case holding David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly's costumes from the ball scene, which were slowly rotating, so everyone could see the amazing detail that went into them.  Seriously impressive, they were.

The Skirball has something for every age bracket, and the Jim Henson exhibit was in the same wing as its Noah's Ark interactive display, which is super kid-focused.  Thus, we saw a lot of kids being dragged into the Henson exhibit by their parents and sitting there bored, while Moms and Dads our age went around, squeeing like fangirls at the puppets, costumes, and pictures.  There were often decent-sized lines to get pictures in specific locations, like the backdrop above and with Kermit.  I have to admit to rounding several corners and getting a full-on kick in the feels by what I saw.  What an outstanding exhibit, truly.

While we were at the Skirball, we wanted to make sure to see their largest (and ongoing) exhibit, "Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America."  It was an interesting, well-curated, affecting look at how the Jewish faith began and the many different locations where Jews have moved over the centuries, generally by being forced from their original homes.  I didn't take shots here, but below is one from the internets:

Overall, it was a really neat, well-presented exhibit, and we really enjoyed our time at the Skirball.  We headed out about 3pm or so, and stopped for a quick snack at Saffron and Rose Ice Cream, not too far from the Getty and Skirball Centers.  It was delicious, and we'll be back the next time we're in the area.

A great day in north LA!

Later!

Amy