Jim Henson is one of the University of Maryland’s most famous alumni. However, until recently, there were not many means of celebration in his name. Thanks to Sammy Popat, UMD’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Catalyst, there is now an annual week of festivities honoring Henson known as Henson Week.
Back in 2016, honoring Jim Henson required minimal effort. If there was any reference to him, it was typically only a social media post on his birthday on Sept. 24, according to Popat. He wanted to find a better way to keep Henson’s relevance alive. In 2018, Popat got together with around a dozen others to establish the UMD Henson Committee. They worked out Henson Day as a way to promote Henson’s work at the university.
Popat then reached out to various student groups expressing interest and invited them to host events as long as they related back to the principles of creativity, innovation and community building. From this stemmed Henson Week, a collection of campus activities related to Jim Henson on the week of Sept. 20.
“There’s so much going on at all times that we sometimes get siloed in our day to day habits … one of the things we hope with Henson Week is that it helps to push people to learn about different programs and initiatives,” Popat said.
Notable events that occurred on campus this year included the taste testing at the Maryland Dairy, the button making at the farmers market, the crochet workshop and the Sock Puppet Party.
For Henson Week, the Maryland Dairy introduced a new ice cream flavor called “Imagination Inspiration!” The sherbert scoops came in pastel oranges, greens and purples mashed together, and the fruity flavor served as a great refresher after a hot day.
Workshops were also popular events to attend. The farmers market, typically bustling with students, attracted even more to participate in button making. For this craft, students cut out circular pictures of Henson and Kermit the Frog, handed them over to the SustainableUMD students at the table and then left with their newly made buttons.
The crochet workshop taught students step by step the patterns to crochet leggy frogs. By the end of the workshop, students got to leave with their frog buddies and extra yarn to make more from.
The biggest event was the Sock Puppet party. The goal of the event was to break the Guinness World Record for the most people wearing sock puppets in a single venue.
Bridget Evinger, a junior bioengineering major, said a fellow peer mentor encouraged her to make sock puppets for the event. She made two and gave one up for “adoption” at the party. While the attendance fell short of the record of 628 people, with only 500 attendees according to Popat, Evinger said that it was a “fun little activity” nonetheless.
While this year’s Henson Week is over, there is much to look forward to for next year. Popat said he would like to incorporate new events in addition to the old ones with more campus partnerships, athletic involvement, Henson-themed tailgates and new record attempts. Popat plans to continue the tradition and improve it each year.
“Even if you don’t break the record, you still did something pretty neat,” he said.