8 – New York for Piccolas and Piccolos : Museum of the Moving Image

By Piccola New Yorker

Not far from Kaufman Astoria Studios—the home of Sesame Street—sits the Museum of Moving Image, one of the coolest attractions for kids of any age. The Museum is located in Astoria, Queens – just three subway stops away from Lexington Ave/59th Street in Midtown Manhattan. A former movie and TV studio houses a unique treat, a museum devoted to the development of moving pictures from flip books to the digital age. Parents often are as intrigued as the kids at the chance to see exhibits that tell of the development of film and television cameras, projectors, television sets, video games, and sound recording equipment.

The main attraction is “Behind the Screen,” an exhibition that showcases 1,400 artifacts (like a real Chewbacca mask from Star Wars) and interactive exhibits that let kids make their own stop-motion animations, sound effects, and flipbooks. Another hit is the permanent Jim Henson exhibit that displays original puppets and behind the scenes footage from his pop-culture contributions.

Museum of the Moving Image provides curriculum-based educational experiences to approximately 70,000 students each year, as well as an array of dynamic, engaging tours, talks, workshops, and screenings for children, teens, families, adults, and seni… — Museum of the Moving Image provides curriculum-based educational experiences to approximately 70,000 students each year, as well as an array of dynamic, engaging tours, talks, workshops, and screenings for children, teens, families, adults, and seniors. Image credit: **Museum of Moving Image**

Visitors can play vintage arcade and console games and have a variety of interactive experiences like recording a sequence of still photos that can be printed to make a flipbook or creating stop-motion animation that can be saved and emailed to friends.

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@nytimes Critic’s Pick: An instant classic of long-form documentary that’s also one of the year’s most urgent and revelatory films, AMERICA TO ME sees two-time Academy Award-nominee Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail) examine racial, economic and class issues in contemporary American education. Poignant and funny, epic and intimate, America to Me is a ten-part unscripted series captured over the course of an academic year at Chicagoland's elite Oak Park and River Forest High School (#OPRF), where diversity, opportunity and fairness are championed, but not always easy to implement or achieve. Throughout, students, families, faculty and administration tell stories of the pressures and challenges teens face today in their own words, while James and three other filmmakers (including Minding the Gap’s Bing Liu) witness events as they transpire in the classroom, on the ballfield, at home, and everywhere in-between. Full series screens SAT (Ep 1-5) and SUN (Ep 6-10), with Steve James and @bingliu89 in person (both days). Tickets available now, includes admission and both screenings! . . (Courtesy of @starz) . . . . . #AmericaToMe #Starz #SteveJames #NYTimes #NYT #CriticsPick #CuratorsChoice #2018 #Series #Documentary #Film #Chicago

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Dec 28, 2018 at 11:49am PST

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Sony Pictures and the Museum of the Moving Image challenge teens to create their very own Spider-Hero from their own universe or neighborhood to celebrate the upcoming release of @spiderversemovie, and the endless of possibilities of who can wear the mask. Challenge has been EXTENDED to December 7. For the full rules and a chance to see a special preview screening of the movie head to movingimage.us/spider-verse #everydayspiderhero #spiderverse. . . . . . . . . . . #Spiderman #IntotheSpiderverse #SonyPictures #Animation #PreviewScreening #Marvel #Comics #NYC #Teens #Challenge

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Nov 30, 2018 at 7:42am PST

At the Museum of the Moving Image, you can dub your voice over dialogue from a film or add sound effects and music. A simulated TV control room is the chance to watch the director call for varying shots to cover a baseball game. Clips from some of the earliest films are displayed, and modern films are shown at the museum’s theater. The newest major permanent exhibit features Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets.

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Join us this Sunday for THE MUPPET SHOW: MORE UK SPOTS, an expanded collection of seldom-seen footage that aired outside the U.S. during The Muppet Show’s original run. Hosted by Craig Shemin, President of The Jim Henson Legacy. Tickets on sale now, includes admission to the Jim Henson exhibition! . . . . . . . . #JimHenson #Henson #HensonMoMI #TheMuppets #TheMuppetShow #Collection #Rare #Footage

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Jun 20, 2018 at 10:33am PDT

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Fri: Join @thepuppetkitchen at MoMI! Have you ever wondered how the puppets you see on TV come to life? One of the secrets is in giving performers a look at what the camera sees through a live-feed video monitor. At Monitor Night you can come learn about this technique alongside experienced puppeteers who come to hone their skills. Bring a puppet or use one of ours, all are welcome to play. Workshop space is limited, reserve your ticket online! . . . . . . . . #Henson #JimHenson #Puppets #Puppeteering #PuppetKitchen #Workshop #NYC #Museum #HensonMoMI

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Jul 18, 2018 at 1:58pm PDT

More than 300 exhibits include storyboards, film and TV clips, costumes and 47 puppets, including favorites like Kermit, Miss Piggy, Big Bird and Elmo. Kids can even have a try at being a puppeteer.

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Ready to make something this summer? Let’s go! Registration for the Museum’s Summer Media Camp is open. Our camp is a great way for your children ages 9-13 to express their creativity and experiment with technology. Weekly sessions focus on animation, game design, claymation, puppetry, and filmmaking. Register before 4/30 for an early bird discount! https://bit.ly/2GhQAgk . . . . . #summermediacamp #families #summercamp #momifamilies #filmforchildren #puppetry #gamedesign #animation #claymation

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Mar 23, 2018 at 7:47am PDT

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Award winners are starting to grace the red carpet here at #SpringFamilyDay. Come join us for more family festivities, all day long, and the best part —kids under 18 are free! . . . . . #AndtheAwardGoesTo #MoMIFamilies #Oscars #Facepainting #Family #Activities #2018 #NYCFamily #NYC

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Mar 3, 2018 at 9:21am PST

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Thanks to Yayauhki Tezcatlipoka and Mariachi Nuevo Amanecer Academy for joining us to celebrate Day of the Dead last night! We continue this weekend with screenings of the Disney Pixar movie COCO (Saturday‘s show will be sensory-friendly with lights dimmed but not off and the volume lowered). . #diadelosmuertos #ofrenda #dayofthedead #coco #Mariachi #teens

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Nov 3, 2018 at 5:23am PDT

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Spring Recess Reminder: we’re open all week (Mon-Fri) with daily screenings of Jim Henson’s TALE OF THE BUNNY PICNIC and THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN. After the movies drop by our themed workshops and take part in animation activities, puppet karaoke and more! Come join the fun, all for the price of Museum admission! . . . . . . #MoMIFamilies #SpringRecess #NYCKids #JimHenson #Workshop #Animation #TheMuppets #Puppetry

A post shared by Museum of the Moving Image (@movingimagenyc) on Apr 2, 2018 at 8:44am PDT