In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Sesame Street is collaborating with The Brooklyn Public Library to bring us a a spectacular three-month exhibition called Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street. On display through February 21, 2010 the exhibit will include original, never publicly displayed Sesame Street memorabilia such as show scripts, sheet music and animation cels art. “It was actually pretty much lost for almost 20 years. We have an archivist who spent the last two years combing off-site storage, contacting individuals to assemble some of these things, most of these images have never been seen by the public before. It was really extraordinary discovering them,” said Sesame Workshop Executive Director Betsy Loredo. In the Grand Lobby you'll find original Sesame Street book art from Sesame Workshop's Publishing Archive, featuring a range of illustrators' works in a variety of styles from the 1970s to the present. Don't forget to peek into the Foyer Cases to see the story of Sesame Street, from its inception to its present and future, told through photographs, scripts, original sheet music, celluloid animation and show props. Also featured is a special collection of Sesame Street Muppets, built by The Jim Henson Company over the show's 40 years. Finally, the Youth Wing will display a variety of Sesame Street stories, illustrated with photographs, show props and Sesame Street Muppet materials. The international reach of Sesame Street is highlighted through photographs and books from around the world. You can also sign up for a limited-edition library card, featuring one of your favorite furry monsters!
“We are thrilled to partner with Sesame Street to celebrate their 40th anniversary,” said Dionne Mack-Harvin,” Executive Director, Brooklyn Public Library. “BPL and Sesame Workshop share a longtime commitment to children's education and early literacy development. Our alliance to create a limited-edition Sesame Street library card is not only a unique opportunity to celebrate the program's reach across generations, but an exciting moment to cultivate a new set of young Brooklynites into lifelong learners and readers.” Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said, “The sun always shines on Brooklyn, so there's no better place to celebrate the show that has been giving us ‘sunny days, sweeping the clouds away' for 40 years. I am proud to say that this special Sesame Street exhibit will be brought to you by the letters B, P and L.” Here's a video from ABC about the event:
And thanks to Filckr mobo85, here are some first pictures:
It's a rare event you don't want to miss! Fore more information on this exhibition, check out the Brooklyn Public Library's website or ABC. First picture via Officially Rad