As a fan for most of the 40 years of “Saturday Night Live,” I couldn’t resist seeing the exhibition on now in NYC that explores the history of the show and takes you through the process of how it’s put together every week.

There are many rooms that have video clips, costumes, props, photos, telegrams, etc. One room is a mock control room where you can hear the director doing his thing. Another room is a recreation of the main stage, the Jeopardy stage, and the musical act stage.

You can sit on the set couch of Wayne’s World, stand behind a Black Jeopardy podium, and at the very end you can even get behind the Weekend Update desk that was in use when Seth Meyers was an anchor. For the latter one, they charge $20 for three poses; you can choose which anchor(s) to superimpose. My husband and I had fun with it as you can see.

One of my favorite parts of the show was seeing the props from ad spoofs including the Bass-o-Matic and the Stuart Little Mouse Removal Kit (a little red car).  I got a kick out of costumes like Kristen Wiig’s dress with the tiny hands and the Spartan cheerleader outfits. I couldn’t believe how small Maya Rudolph’s Donatella Versace dress was. If there were such a things as negative dress sizes I’d say it was  a  -2.

Info: SNL the Exhibition, 417 Fifth Avenue between 37^th and 38^th streets (across from Lord & Taylor; near Empire State Building), http://snltheexhibition.com/

See what deals you can get – e.g., there have been Groupons. Because we’re  AAA members we got a combined $10 discount on two tickets. Non-discounted tix are $29 for adults.

Wayne and Garth’s costumes

Waiting for Wayne and Garth

Nice to meet you baby hand lady

Jimmy Fallon’s real life thank you note to Lorne Michaels after auditioning for SNL

Costumes on display at the SNL exhibition

A beautiful, relaxed photo of Gilda Radner and John Belushi on display at the SNL exhibition

I’m Stasha Healy and you’re not

Church Lady

Pretending to discuss with a superimposed Jimmy Fallon our late night at the dearly departed Siberia dive bar

Having fun on the Weekend Update set

My favorite fake item is the little red car that you can use for mice instead of a trap or poison. What mouse wouldn’t want to drive away in a sports car?