X•tink•shun

'X•tink•shun: A Wild Puppet X•perience is a special exhibit and shows produced in partnership by the Philadelphia Zoo and the Jim Henson Company. The exhibit will premiere on April 9, 2011 at the Philadelphia Zoo, and will run until October 31, 2011.

X•tink•shun features a cast of original puppet characters created by the Jim Henson Company and Jim Henson's Creature Shop including: Didi the Dodo, Leo the Golden Lion Tamarin, Alfreda Cheetah, Iggle the Eaglet, Phibi Frog, Igor the Tiger and The “Douc” Langer. X•tink•shun tells the story of endangered or threatened species through a mix of live theatrical puppet presentations and performances showcased on Eco-stage stages situated throughout the Zoo. Performances are scheduled every half hour and hour. Each Eco-stage features a puppet character that educates guests on the plight of its species as well as other endangered animals and habitats.

An interactive component to X•tink•shun includes the Save Our Species Parade, wherein guest will march two times per day with high flying air puppets. Other interactive componets include the X•Clamation Station and X•Pression Wall.

The puppets were built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop; each of the main cast puppets took builders between three and four weeks to construct. The puppets used for the Save our Species Parade took on average one week each to build. Stuffed plushies of the puppets will be available in the Zoo shop for purchase.