By Neal Wong

The California Academy of Sciences is featuring internet character Tiny Chef in a new collaboration running through May 3.

The eight-inch-tall, stop-motion animated felt chef – voiced by Matt Hutchinson – who speaks in a lispy voice and creates plant-based dishes, is the star of a new planetarium show focused on climate action.

The collaboration also includes an exhibit with props from the show, special items at the Academy Café and Tiny Chef figures hidden throughout the museum.

The 20-minute planetarium show, “Tiny Chef, Big Impact,” depicts the character – nicknamed Cheffy – attempting to deliver a presentation about sustainable living and environmental protection, with a meter measuring each of his actions’ impacts.

The film includes scenes of the chef working in his tree-stump kitchen, wearing sustainable outfits and using clean energy. The show breaks from the usual planetarium format by encouraging audience participation.

Christine Klingenberger-Valdez, senior marketing manager at the Academy, came up with the idea for the collaboration in the summer of last year.

“We were looking for ways to bring some new audiences in and work with collaborators that have a similar mission and values,” Klingenberger-Valdez said.

The Tiny Chef Show came to mind, so she sent a cold email to the show’s creators. They were excited and produced the character’s first planetarium show in about six weeks. The show is focused on regeneration, which means going beyond sustainability by actively restoring and improving natural systems. The collaboration was announced in mid-November of last year.

The chef expressed his excitement about the collaboration in a press release, using his unique style of speech.

“When I cook in my tiny kitchen, I blalways (always) use pwants (plants) and take cawe (care) of our pwanet (planet), and da Academy does da same thing but even BIGGOW (BIGGER),” he said.

The planetarium show follows Cheffy as he delivers his environmental presentation, while being assisted by a man named Bashem, who handles the slides, plays videos and serves as emotional support for the chef.

Klingenberger-Valdez said the show presents regeneration in an approachable way.

“The content of the exhibit is something that is easily understood for folks of all ages or wherever you are in your regeneration journey, through actions and hilarious clips that take on this concept in a new and fresh way,” she said.

The show also features testimonials from people who say the chef inspired their environmental actions. In one sequence, Cheffy discusses growing potatoes and using all parts of the vegetable, including making potato chips from the peels. Another segment shows the Tiny Chef’s garden, where he grows food for cooking and plants flowers for insects and birds.

Props from “The Tiny Chef Show” are on display in Hohfeld Hall, which is between the planetarium entrance and the theater area.

“There’s a tiny Clipper card that always makes me laugh whenever I see it,” Klingenberger-Valdez said. “And then there’s a photo op, where you’re brought into Tiny Chef’s world.”

The recreation of Cheffy’s kitchen allows visitors to take photos at a scale where they appear the same size as the character. The museum has also placed Tiny Chef figures throughout existing exhibits.

“We also have nine Tiny Chefs hidden throughout the Academy that you can follow via QR code or just spot them as you meander the museum,” Klingenberger-Valdez said.

The Academy Café is serving plant-based menu items inspired by the Tiny Chef throughout the collaboration’s run. The Academy Store is selling Tiny Chef merchandise, including items exclusive to the museum.

“Tiny Chef, Big Impact” is shown daily during museum hours: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. The exhibition is included with general Academy admission. Find more information at calacademy.org.