Opening August 15, 2025, and running through October 2026, POP! Goes the Banjo! brings together some of the most beloved banjos ever to appear on stage and screen — many of them on public display for the first time. At the heart of the exhibit is a beloved icon: Kermit the Frog seated with the original banjo prop from 1979’s The Muppet Movie. Visitors can relive the magic of “The Rainbow Connection,” the Oscar-nominated song that cemented Kermit as both a showbiz amphibian and bona fide banjo hero.

“There’s something magical about making music,” says Kermit, “at least it is when you’re a frog singing and playing banjo. Having my banjo on display in the same gallery with Steve Martin, Roy Clark and Ed Norton is truly an honor. And to think, those guys aren’t even amphibians!”

Kermit’s return to the museum is especially meaningful, following his previous visit during the American Banjo Museum’s award-winning 2018 exhibit Jim Henson: Life and Legacy.

Another star attraction is Steve Martin’s 1927 Gibson Florentine banjo — the very instrument he strummed during his immensely popular 1970s “wild and crazy” era of stand-up comedy. This historic banjo was featured in performances captured on hit albums including Let’s Get Small, A Wild and Crazy Guy, Comedy is Not Pretty, and The Steve Martin Brothers. It was also played in countless legendary TV appearances, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Saturday Night Live, and even The Muppet Show, where Martin’s quick wit and lightning-fast picking brought the banjo to millions of living rooms across America.

Also featured is the Vega Pete Seeger model banjo, as played on screen by Ed Norton in his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Seeger in the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. This piece offers a rare connection between modern film and folk music heritage, underscoring the banjo’s timeless resonance.

For Disney fans, the exhibit includes a special treat — the banjo from the 2002 Disney film The Country Bears, bringing another whimsical moment in banjo cinema history to Oklahoma City. Country music fans will enjoy seeing banjos owned by Roy Clark and Grandpa Jones while two banjos used in bringing Oklahoma history to life in Martin Scorsese's 2023 epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, are also on display.

POP! Goes the Banjo! invites guests to explore these and other legendary instruments through vibrant displays, multimedia presentations, and engaging stories that capture the spirit of the banjo in pop culture. Kermit’s banjo, the Pete Seeger banjo, and the Country Bears banjo are on loan courtesy of the Walt Disney Archives, with special thanks to Senior Manager, Rick Lorentz, as well as Leigh Slaughter, Frank Reifsnyder, Dani Iglesias, and Michael Steinbach of The Muppets Studio.

“This exhibit is a love letter to the banjo’s unexpected star turns,” says Johnny Baier, Executive Director of the American Banjo Museum. “Whether in the hands of a legendary comedian, a green Muppet, or a folk icon brought to life on film, the banjo continues to surprise and inspire new generations.”

The exhibit opens August 15, 2025, at the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City and will run through October 2026.