Julia puppet used on Sesame Street: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Julia puppet used in the production of the children's television series Sesame Street. Julia was the first Muppet character with autism, introduced in 2015 to help the show’s cast demonstrate acceptance, inclusion, and understanding of people on the autism spectrum. The puppet is made of yellow puppet fleece with medium-length orange hair, a round orange fleece nose, red mouth with a pink tongue, and two large eyes with green pupils. Julia is wearing a pink t-shirt with a purple tank top over top, green pants printed with a floral pattern, and black shoes. This puppet was the primary puppet used in filming Sesame Street from the character’s debut in 2015 until its donation to the museum.

Sesame Street (airing 1969-present) is the longest-running children’s television series in American history and has earned acclaim for its blend of education and entertainment as well as its intentionally inclusive, multicultural cast and setting. In 2010, with rising awareness of the extent of people in the United States on the autism spectrum, Sesame Workshop launched an autism initiative. Staff writer Leslie Kimmelman, whose autistic son Greg’s obsession with Elmo had inspired her career, was assigned to write a children’s book explaining autism and understanding what might seem like strange behaviors exhibited by people on the autism spectrum. The main character of this book, Julia, was then adapted as a Muppet character to join the Sesame Street cast in 2015.

Julia’s writers and performers have worked with advocates and researchers to develop scripts and scenarios using Julia to teach children how to better understand and support people with autism in their lives; Julia’s performer Stacey Gordon has a son who is on the spectrum. Other Muppet characters, stand-ins for children of different ages and personalities, often have difficulties interacting with Julia, who seems at times shy and withdrawn. Grown-up characters will frequently intervene, explain why Julia might be acting or speaking differently, and encourage play or activities that are better suited to Julia’s personality and abilities. Julia’s creators have been lauded for their success in teaching about autism, including winning an inaugural Smithsonian Magazine Ingenuity Award in 2017.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 2015
• performer: Gordon, Stacey
• maker: Jim Henson Company
• Object Name: puppet
• Physical Description: fleece (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 28 in x 13 in x 10 in; 71.12 cm x 33.02 cm x 25.4 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York City
• Subject: Children's television programs
• Subject: Television
• ID Number: 2021.0140.02
• catalog number: 2021.0140.02
• accession number: 2021.0140
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.