The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the American Museum of the Moving Image, and in 1996, opened its permanent exhibition, "Behind the Screen," designed by Ali Höcek of AC Höcek Architecture LLC. The museum began a $67 million expansion in March 2008 and reopened in January 2011. The expansion was designed by architect Thomas Leeser. Description The Museum of the Moving Image is focused on art, history, technique and technology of film, television, and digital media. It collects, preserves, and provides access to moving-image related artifacts via multimedia exhibitions and educational programming. The exhibits include significant audio/visual components designed to promote an understanding of the history of the industry and an understanding of how it has evolved. Panel discussions about current movies are frequently held at the museum. The museum hosts regular monthly series in its two premium theaters. These ongoing series include “Changing the Picture,” “Fist & Sword,” “New Adventures in Nonfiction,” “Science on Screen,” and “Disreputable Cinema.” Each of these explore and celebrate many aspects of the art and culture of cinema. It is also home to one of the most significant collections of video games and gaming hardware. The museum's attendance has grown from 60,000 in 2000 to an expected figure of 120,000 in 2011. In 2017, the museum opened “the Jim Henson Exhibition,” a permanent exhibit honoring the life and ingenuity of Jim Henson and his creations. Further, an exhibit entitled, "Envisioning 2001: Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey", opened in January 2020. History In 1970, the Astoria Motion Picture and Television Center Foundation took control of the former Astoria Studios in an effort to preserve the now-landmarked building, which was home to a number of significant productions. The foundation's work revitalized the site and consumers' interest in the industry, and plans were made to expand the consumer access to the studio in the form of a museum. Following seven years of work, and at a cost of $15 million, the American Museum of the Moving Image opened on September 10, 1988, in the former East Coast home of Paramount Pictures as the first museum in the United States that was devoted solely to the art, history and technology of film, television and video.