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Jim Henson's Creature Shop Opens Queens Workshop for Public Tours

Ticketed 80-minute visits show the artisans' handmade work, limiting access to in-progress proprietary designs.

A re-creation of an artist's desk, with a photograph of Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog, is part of a tour at Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Trays full of eyes, used to make puppets, are seen at Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sarah Lafferty, right, fits a mouthpiece on "Boober," a character in the "Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Live" show, at Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sierra Schoening, a senior puppet builder, demonstrates how to maneuver a puppet she built at Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Overview

  • The Creature Shop opened public tours on Monday, offering 80-minute Saturday visits priced at $150 that begin in a props room where photography and video are allowed.
  • Tours include live puppetry demonstrations and meet-and-greet moments with iconic characters while the main workshop remains off-limits to protect works in progress.
  • Staff and leaders stress the visit is a chance to showcase one-of-a-kind, handmade work created by artisans trained for years or decades.
  • The shop continues active production work, including preparing costumes and pieces for a Fraggle Rock musical set to open near Times Square later this month.
  • Founded by Jim Henson in the 1960s and based in Queens since 2009, the Creature Shop has credits across film and TV and operates a Los Angeles workshop that does not offer public tours; key character rights remain split between Disney and Sesame Workshop.