A Celebration of 40 Years of Sesame Street!

Sesame Street is a educational television series that has been inspiring and educating children since 1969. Through the use of songs, colorful graphics, live actors, animation, puppets, etc, it has stimulated young children's minds and helped them improve their letter and word recognition, basic arithmetic skills, and to learn basic skills such as sharing and cooperative play and that learning can be fun!

The Central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is hosting an exhibition called "Sesame Street -- A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street" up until February 21, 2010. The original Bert and Ernie puppets, built by the Jim Henson Company, can be seen above.

This exhibition is made possible in part by The Jim Henson Company and The Jim Henson Legacy. The library foyer cases show the story of Sesame Street, from its inception to its present and future, told through photographs, scripts, original sheet music, celluloid animation and show props. Also featuring a special collection of Sesame Street Muppets, built by The Jim Henson Company over the show's 40 years.

A few close ups

Who was your favorite Muppet?



The exhibit explores the making of Sesame Street, from initial concept papers, audience research and curriculum goals to outreach initiatives that respond to current social and developmental needs of children. It highlights the scripts, songs and animations that make the show beloved by children and adults. And, of course, it showcases the multi-talented human cast and Jim Henson's Sesame Street Muppets.

The original sheet music for the opening theme song of the show, written by Joe Raposo.

Another familiar original song was " The People In Your Neighborhood?" by Jeffrey Moss

The original script explaining to the muppet Big Bird that the character Mr. Hopper
had died. The episode to teach its young viewers about death as a natural part of life and that it is OK for everyone, children and adults alike, to grieve when someone they love dies.

A photo of some of the original cast members; from left to right they are Bob McGrath, Loretta Long, Matt Robinson (who was originally a writer and producer for the show) and Will Lee.

Sesame Street won many Emmy Awards and other awards for excellence over their forty years of broadcast. One of their Emmy Awards can be seen in the exhibit.

I loved this scene of a puppet of Bert holding a black and white photo of his creator Jim Henson in turn holding him.

Jim Henson was one of the most widely known puppeteers in American history and the creator of The Muppets used on Sesame Street.

The grand lobby of the library has an exhibit of original Sesame Street book art from Sesame Workshop's Publishing Archive, featuring a range of illustrators' works in a variety of styles from the 1970s to the present.

Please click to enlarge this collage of photographs that I took of many of the original Sesame Street illustrations.

I remember that my children once had a set of flash cards that were based on these drawings!

A small portion of the Brooklyn Public Library's Central Library's youth wing.
.
In the youth wing there is a variety of Sesame Street stories, illustrated with photographs, show props and Sesame Street Muppet materials on display. Also, the international reach of Sesame Street is highlighted through photographs and books from around the world.

A portion of the Sesame Street multimedia collection available to borrow.

It was an interesting exhibit that brought back many memories from the years my children watched the program. Just like this young child with her grandmother, my grandson already enjoys looking at Sesame Street books, and while he is too young, as yet, to watch television I'm sure one day he will be another generation that will enjoy learning from Sesame Street!