By . Ap and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 17:42 EST, 24 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:22 EST, 25 September 2013 . Miss Piggy is finally joining her love, Kermit the Frog, in the Smithsonian Institution's collection of legendary puppeteer Jim Henson's Muppets. Henson's family donated more than 20 puppets and props Tuesday to the National Museum of American History to accompany the earlier donations of Kermit, Oscar the Grouch and early Henson creations. The newest donation includes Miss Piggy and some of her co-stars from The Muppet Show, including Fozzie Bear, Rowlf the piano-playing dog, Scooter and the Swedish Chef. Puppets from Sesame Street joining the museum collection include Bert and Ernie, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover and Count Von Count, among others. Scroll down for video . Moi? Miss Piggy was welcomed into the Smithsonian's Museum of American History on Tuesday, finally joining her amphibian beau Kermit the Frog . Donation: The Miss Piggy puppet was gifted to the museum by Muppet creator Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson (left) in a Tuesday ceremony . The food and frog loving Miss Piggy began as a minor character on the Jim Henson's The Muppet Show (1976). Miss Piggy's first television appearance was on a Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band special. As her story goes, Miss Piggy is a native Iowan, though she occasionally takes on a slight French accent. Miss Piggy's big break from background character to starring role came when a 'starlet character' was needed on an episode of The Muppet Show. Bonnie Erickson, who designed many of the famous Muppets and now serves as executive director of the Jim Henson Legacy explained to Smithsonian Magazine how Miss Piggy became star. 'We quickly ran to the eye drawer, got some very big eyes with long eyelashes and changed her wig,' he said, 'and I draped some fabric for a dress and put some pearls around her neck.' Many of the puppets are among the first constructions of the characters. Smithsonian . magazine welcomed Miss Piggy, dressed in a silver evening gown and . holding a red rose, with a photo shoot. The museum allowed her to pose . with Dorothy's ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and to wear the . real 45-carat Hope Diamond from the National Museum of Natural History. ‘She . was very well-behaved, considering she wanted to take it home with . her,’ said Bonnie Erickson, who created the Miss Piggy puppet with . Henson and now is executive director of the Jim Henson Legacy . foundation. The gift was made on what would have been Henson's 77th birthday and shortly after his wife, Jane Henson, died in April. Since . she was diagnosed with cancer four years ago, Jane Henson spent years . planning to find permanent homes for each puppet character, Cheryl . Henson said. Other puppets will be donated to the Museum of the Moving . Image in Astoria, New York, and to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. ‘Many . of these puppets have been in boxes for years. They've been tucked away . in boxes, and we don't want them to stay in boxes. We want people to . see them and to appreciate them,’ Cheryl Henson said. ‘There's something . about puppets. They're not animated. ... They are actual, physical . things.’ Roommates: Sesame Street denizens Bert and Ernie will also join Miss Piggy at the Museum of American history . Cookie Monster and Grover were were also among the Muppets donated to the Smithsonian on Tuesday. 'They've been tucked away in boxes, and we don't want them to stay in boxes,' said Cheryl Henson . 'We want people to see them and to appreciate them': Cheryl Henson is pictured here with Miss Piggy and Fozzie the Bear (center) Miss Piggy . will go on display in March 2014 in the Smithsonian's ‘American Stories’ exhibit. The original Kermit and Cookie Monster will go on view in . November in a special display case, and a puppetry exhibit in early 2014 . will likely feature Bert and Ernie, among others, curators said. The Hensons have a longtime connection to Washington. Jim and Jane Henson met as students at the nearby University of Maryland and became performing partners before they married. They made early television commercials with their puppets and created a local TV show, ‘Sam and Friends,’ which included the first Kermit creation. The original Kermit, made from an old coat and pingpong balls for eyes, was donated to the Smithsonian in 2010, along with other characters from ‘Sam and Friends.’ Priceless: Along with Miss Piggy are Muppets Fozzie Bear, Scooter (2nd L), Rowlf (on piano) and Swedish Chef (right). The puppets are among 20 newly donated Jim Henson objects . Forgotten relatives: The Muppet named Wilkins was created by Henson in 1957 for the Wilkins Coffee commercials. He now appears his more famous Muppet cousins at the Museum of American History . The newest donation includes Boober Fraggle, Red Fraggle and Travelling Matt from the 1980s show ‘Fraggle Rock.’ The Hensons also donated a 1957 puppet called Wilkins that was made for Wilkins Coffee commercials. Erickson and others who worked with Henson gathered Tuesday at the museum for a donation ceremony and said the Muppets will have a new life among the relics of history. The puppets were never meant to be made for posterity, Erickson said, but ‘considering that they're retired, they're looking absolutely wonderful.’ Fran Brill, the first woman puppeteer Henson hired for ‘Sesame Street,’ who created the characters of Zoe and Prairie Dawn, said Henson had created a puppet family with his many collaborators. ‘I'm just looking at all of these characters and thinking this is the puppet family, and yet, I feel like they're all my relatives,’ she said. Curator Dwight Blocker Bowers said the puppets represent the creativity of ‘one of America's great innovators.’ He said Henson had extended the boundaries of puppetry, using film and television. ‘I love these puppets' eyes. You can't walk near them without making eye contact,’ Blocker Bowers said. ‘They're very much like an oil painting. And they have such an innocence.’ Big leagues: The famously histrionic Miss Piggy will appear as part of the permanent American Stories exhibit starting in March alongside such famous showbiz relics as Dorthy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz . Puppeteer Fran Brill poses with her character, Prairie Dawn, after Cheryl Henson, daughter of Muppets founder Jim Henson, donated 20 puppets . Big family: A news photographer shoots puppets from Sesame Street and Muppets fame after they were donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington on Tuesday . Memorabilia: Muppets Bert and Ernie appear with the Count (left), Cookie Monster (rear), Grover (center, beside Elmo) and even a Fraggle Rock character or two .
Miss Piggy finally joins the original Kermit the Frog, which has been displayed at the Washington, DC museum since 2010 .
Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson donated 20 famous Muppets and props to the Museum of American History on Tuesday .
Miss Piggy will go on display in March 2014 in a permanent exhibit .
By . Ap and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 17:42 EST, 24 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:22 EST, 25 September 2013 . Miss Piggy is finally joining her love, Kermit the Frog, in the Smithsonian Institution's collection of legendary puppeteer Jim Henson's Muppets. Henson's family donated more than 20 puppets and props Tuesday to the National Museum of American History to accompany the earlier donations of Kermit, Oscar the Grouch and early Henson creations. The newest donation includes Miss Piggy and some of her co-stars from The Muppet Show, including Fozzie Bear, Rowlf the piano-playing dog, Scooter and the Swedish Chef. Puppets from Sesame Street joining the museum collection include Bert and Ernie, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover and Count Von Count, among others. Scroll down for video . Moi? Miss Piggy was welcomed into the Smithsonian's Museum of American History on Tuesday, finally joining her amphibian beau Kermit the Frog . Donation: The Miss Piggy puppet was gifted to the museum by Muppet creator Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson (left) in a Tuesday ceremony . The food and frog loving Miss Piggy began as a minor character on the Jim Henson's The Muppet Show (1976). Miss Piggy's first television appearance was on a Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band special. As her story goes, Miss Piggy is a native Iowan, though she occasionally takes on a slight French accent. Miss Piggy's big break from background character to starring role came when a 'starlet character' was needed on an episode of The Muppet Show. Bonnie Erickson, who designed many of the famous Muppets and now serves as executive director of the Jim Henson Legacy explained to Smithsonian Magazine how Miss Piggy became star. 'We quickly ran to the eye drawer, got some very big eyes with long eyelashes and changed her wig,' he said, 'and I draped some fabric for a dress and put some pearls around her neck.' Many of the puppets are among the first constructions of the characters. Smithsonian . magazine welcomed Miss Piggy, dressed in a silver evening gown and . holding a red rose, with a photo shoot. The museum allowed her to pose . with Dorothy's ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and to wear the . real 45-carat Hope Diamond from the National Museum of Natural History. ‘She . was very well-behaved, considering she wanted to take it home with . her,’ said Bonnie Erickson, who created the Miss Piggy puppet with . Henson and now is executive director of the Jim Henson Legacy . foundation. The gift was made on what would have been Henson's 77th birthday and shortly after his wife, Jane Henson, died in April. Since . she was diagnosed with cancer four years ago, Jane Henson spent years . planning to find permanent homes for each puppet character, Cheryl . Henson said. Other puppets will be donated to the Museum of the Moving . Image in Astoria, New York, and to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. ‘Many . of these puppets have been in boxes for years. They've been tucked away . in boxes, and we don't want them to stay in boxes. We want people to . see them and to appreciate them,’ Cheryl Henson said. ‘There's something . about puppets. They're not animated. ... They are actual, physical . things.’ Roommates: Sesame Street denizens Bert and Ernie will also join Miss Piggy at the Museum of American history . Cookie Monster and Grover were were also among the Muppets donated to the Smithsonian on Tuesday. 'They've been tucked away in boxes, and we don't want them to stay in boxes,' said Cheryl Henson . 'We want people to see them and to appreciate them': Cheryl Henson is pictured here with Miss Piggy and Fozzie the Bear (center) Miss Piggy . will go on display in March 2014 in the Smithsonian's ‘American Stories’ exhibit. The original Kermit and Cookie Monster will go on view in . November in a special display case, and a puppetry exhibit in early 2014 . will likely feature Bert and Ernie, among others, curators said. The Hensons have a longtime connection to Washington. Jim and Jane Henson met as students at the nearby University of Maryland and became performing partners before they married. They made early television commercials with their puppets and created a local TV show, ‘Sam and Friends,’ which included the first Kermit creation. The original Kermit, made from an old coat and pingpong balls for eyes, was donated to the Smithsonian in 2010, along with other characters from ‘Sam and Friends.’ Priceless: Along with Miss Piggy are Muppets Fozzie Bear, Scooter (2nd L), Rowlf (on piano) and Swedish Chef (right). The puppets are among 20 newly donated Jim Henson objects . Forgotten relatives: The Muppet named Wilkins was created by Henson in 1957 for the Wilkins Coffee commercials. He now appears his more famous Muppet cousins at the Museum of American History . The newest donation includes Boober Fraggle, Red Fraggle and Travelling Matt from the 1980s show ‘Fraggle Rock.’ The Hensons also donated a 1957 puppet called Wilkins that was made for Wilkins Coffee commercials. Erickson and others who worked with Henson gathered Tuesday at the museum for a donation ceremony and said the Muppets will have a new life among the relics of history. The puppets were never meant to be made for posterity, Erickson said, but ‘considering that they're retired, they're looking absolutely wonderful.’ Fran Brill, the first woman puppeteer Henson hired for ‘Sesame Street,’ who created the characters of Zoe and Prairie Dawn, said Henson had created a puppet family with his many collaborators. ‘I'm just looking at all of these characters and thinking this is the puppet family, and yet, I feel like they're all my relatives,’ she said. Curator Dwight Blocker Bowers said the puppets represent the creativity of ‘one of America's great innovators.’ He said Henson had extended the boundaries of puppetry, using film and television. ‘I love these puppets' eyes. You can't walk near them without making eye contact,’ Blocker Bowers said. ‘They're very much like an oil painting. And they have such an innocence.’ Big leagues: The famously histrionic Miss Piggy will appear as part of the permanent American Stories exhibit starting in March alongside such famous showbiz relics as Dorthy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz . Puppeteer Fran Brill poses with her character, Prairie Dawn, after Cheryl Henson, daughter of Muppets founder Jim Henson, donated 20 puppets . Big family: A news photographer shoots puppets from Sesame Street and Muppets fame after they were donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington on Tuesday . Memorabilia: Muppets Bert and Ernie appear with the Count (left), Cookie Monster (rear), Grover (center, beside Elmo) and even a Fraggle Rock character or two .
Museum of American History on Tuesday, finally museum by Muppet creator Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson (left) in a Tuesday ceremony . The Bear (center) Miss Piggy . will go on display in March 2014 in the Smithsonian's ‘American Stories’ exhibit. The original Kermit and Cookie Muppet cousins at the Museum of American History donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of