Today is a sunny day! It is the 50th anniversary of “Sesame Street,” and this year will be a special one for the show.

This show has a lot of fan favorites: Bert and Ernie, The Count, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and Elmo. “Sesame Street” was practically everyone’s favorite show growing up.

The show first aired on public broadcasting television stations on Nov. 10, 1969, and will reach its 50th season in November 2019. The history of “Sesame Street” reflected changing attitudes to developmental psychology, early childhood education, and cultural diversity. Sesame Street introduced values as well as brought lifelong lessons to life.

Through Sesame Street, children learned the importance of sharing, understanding differences, and making learning fun. Many consider Infinity Waras the biggest crossover of all- time, but the title goes to the collaboration with Jim Henson’s Muppets. It’s a combination of animation, live shorts, humor and celebrity appearances which helped garner appeal from people of all ages.

It was the first television program of its kind to base its content and production values on laboratory and formulation research, and the first to include a curriculum, “detailed or stated in terms of measurable outcomes.”

RSP coordinator Nate Simon commented on his own memory of the show. When asked about his favorite character, he said, “It was Oscar the Grouch, of course.”

Simon said, “I loved it. Now looking back as a parent, I like it even more. They tackle some difficult questions in a way that kids can understand. They make diversity and acceptance a central theme at all times, and they make learning fun.”

Simon likes all the episodes from “Sesame Street,” saying they are “great, and have had an impact on several generations.”

A recently posted poll on The Crusader website asked readers who their favorite “Sesame Street” character was.

The results revealed Cookie Monster as the top choice, probably because of his famous song, which proclaims his love for cookies, “C is for cookie, that’s for me.”

Cookie Monster continues to make kids laugh as many love to replicate his voracious cookie eating habits.

Radley Simpson ’21 said, “Elmo is my favorite character. He was pretty funny and I grew up with him.” Simpson said, “It gives me a sense of nostalgia, thinking about the show that I watched as a kid.”

The new Algebra II/ Trigonometry teacher, Richard Kim, also wanted to share some of his favorite moments with “Sesame Street.” He said, “My favorite character was Ernie.”

Kim explained, “My first impression of the show was that it was a lot of fun. I got to watch a ton of fun characters, sing songs, and learn a little something.”

Kim added, “I don’t remember any specific episodes, but I loved the songs The Count would sing. It was definitely my favorite show when I was really young. Also, we didn’t have cable so there were only like, five channels total.”

The anniversary will bring people together through social impact initiatives, digital campaigns, and community events that reflect Sesame Street’s unifying messages. “Sesame Street” will still make more episodes, and will spread a positive impact on the kids who are still watching the show.