Sunny Day, Sweepin’ the Clouds Away - Sesame Street, STEM, and a Legacy of Learning
By Ali Roberts
Sesame Street is an educational television series that has been a reliable source of entertainment and learning for children of all ages since 1969. For those not be familiar, the show features animation, live acting, and a cast of loveable puppets like Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster. Sesame Street also features guest starts, ranging from Hollywood actors to famous athletes and politicians.
Beginning around 2006, educators, parents, and politicians were engaging in conversations surrounding a desire to boost American students’ understandings of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). It was then that the team behind Sesame Street began brainstorming how they could infuse more intentional STEM learning into the television show. The team decided that the puppet Grover, a blue-furred and well-intentioned monster, would be the character to take on the STEM-focused segments of the show. While Grover may have seemed like a surprising choice, as he often makes mistakes and learns through much trial and error, he models the processes of observation and repetitive investigation that are central to scientific methods.
In 2011, the Vice President of research and education for Sesame Street, Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, pointed out that children are natural scientists through the desire to explore, investigate, and observe. As an educational television show, Sesame Street is a great medium for modelling the processes through which children can channel these tendencies.
Sesame Street Day is celebrated on November 10 each year and was established in New York City in 2009 to recognize the impact the show has had on people all over the world. Over the last 53 years, Sesame Street has provided engaging and educational entertainment for so many people through more than 4,600 episodes. The commitment of the Sesame Street team to produce this intentional content for such an important audience is certainly something worth celebrating every day.
