Oscar the Grouch, the beloved green character from Sesame Street who lies in a garbage can, was performed by Muppeteer Carroll Spinney. Sesame Street, an American educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, is well known not only for its Muppet characters created by Jim Henson but for combining both education and entertainment. t premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's program on American television. The show is produced in the United States by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.
The National Museum of American History (NMAH), administered by the Smithsonian Institute, collects, preserves and displays American heritage in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. The museum, which first opened in 1964 as the Museum of History and Technology, is located on the National Mall in one of the last structures designed by McKim, Mead & White. It was renamed in 1980, and closed for a 2-year, $85 milliomn renovation by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP from 2006 to 2008.
The Smithsonian Institution, an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazines, was established in 1846. Although concentrated in Washington DC, its collection of over 136 million items is spread through 19 museums, a zoo, and nine research centers from New York to Panama.
