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Sesame Street has always been dedicated to teaching kids valuable life skills. However, some of our favorite Muppets have also tackled serious social challenges. Here’s a list of Muppets who have helped raise awareness of the issues that affect our world today.
1. Cookie Monster - Promoting Handwashing and Healthy Eating Habits
In April, Cookie Monster took the opportunity to highlight the importance of handwashing in a campaign to support global sanitation efforts. (2.5 billion people still lack access to proper toilets!) He even participated in an interview on this important topic with the Impatient Optimists blog. Here's a brief excerpt:
Impatient Optimists: We know you’re a fan of cookies. Can you share with us your cookie-eating ritual? Cookie Monster: Me cookie-loving ways are well known. Of course me have a ritual! First me wash hands. This part is very important because it helps keep me healthy. Me not sure exactly how long me wash, but me sing the ABCs slowly, and when me reach Z, it’s time to rinse, and then, watch out, om nom nom nom nom. Me also enjoy sharing me cookies with Elmo and Big Bird. Little known secret, birdseed cookies are quite tasty.
In 2005, Cookie Monster famously sang "A Cookie is a Sometimes Food" to raise awareness about obesity. (In the song, various fruits are promoted as "anytime foods.") In this video, he faces a dilemma between fresh fruit and a tempting cookie:
Cookie Monster also addressed food issues with a 90s-style rap about healthy eating, complete with gold chains. "Nutrition, it’s really cool!" Me love it.
2. Captain Vegetable - The Champion of Vegetables
While Cookie Monster enjoys tolerates fruit, Sesame Street has a whole character dedicated to vegetables—the superhero Captain Vegetable. Hailing from "somewhere in New Jersey," Captain Vegetable was originally voiced by Jim Henson (!) in a 1982 song that promoted healthy eating habits:
In 2002, the Captain Vegetable superhero series was revitalized, now featuring John Leguizamo as a live-action Captain Vegetable, donning a green cape and a bandolier filled with vegetables!
3. Kami - Living with HIV
Takalani Sesame is the South African adaptation of Sesame Street, introducing Kami, the HIV-positive Muppet. The name Kami is derived from the Tswana word for "acceptance," and she has become an international symbol in HIV awareness campaigns. Kami highlights that living with HIV is possible, and encourages those without HIV to be accepting (and unafraid) of those who do. She has appeared alongside Oprah Winfrey, Laura Bush, Desmond Tutu, and Whoopi Goldberg. Oh, and she shared a heartfelt hug with Bill Clinton in this charming UNICEF video:
For more information about Kami, visit her Muppet Wiki page, which includes a photo of the time she kissed Whoopi Goldberg at the U.N.!
4. Big Bird - Coping with Loss
Big Bird has been involved in addressing many social issues on Sesame Street, but the most moving was his storyline about coping with death, following the passing of Will Lee, who portrayed Mr. Hooper, in 1982. On the show, Mr. Hooper’s death taught Big Bird a valuable lesson. Have a tissue ready:
The episode addressing Mr. Hooper’s death aired nearly a year after Lee’s passing. It was broadcast on Thanksgiving in 1983, as the producers anticipated that many parents would be home during the holiday to help children process the loss. This emotional episode was later adapted into a book titled I'll Miss You, Mr. Hooper.
5. Lily - Tackling Food Insecurity
Lily is a "food insecure" Muppet who sometimes struggles with hunger due to her family’s financial challenges. She first appeared in 2011 on a Sesame Street episode called "Growing Hope Against Hunger." Lily is the show’s first character to experience food insecurity and shines a light on possible solutions, like school lunch programs and food banks. Check out a highlight reel from Lily’s debut episode:
6. Pino - Addressing Bullying
Pino discovers the meaning of bullying (and the importance of sharing) in the song "Don't Be a Bully," a fun parody of the classic tune "Wooly Bully."
Sesame Street also took on the topic of bullying with a special episode featuring Big Bird and other characters. Here’s Big Bird discussing the issue on CNN:
(Trivia fact: The American Pino, a brownish monster, should not be confused with Pino the big blue bird from Sesamstraat, the Dutch version of Sesame Street.)
7. Grover - Embracing Cultural Differences
Global Grover embarks on adventures around the world, exploring different cultures. Here are some of his most memorable moments!
In Nicaragua, Grover shares the story of a boy who creates mud bricks. "It is I, your furry blue globe-trotting monster!"
Here, he explains how children around the world travel to school:
And here’s Grover in Bangladesh, in a slightly compressed video:
8. Zobi - Teaching About Malaria
Zobi appears on the Nigerian edition of Sesame Street, educating children about malaria. In one skit, he gets tangled in a mosquito net designed for protection. He also has an (unrelated to malaria) love for yams. Watch Zobi, alongside Kami, in a teacher training video:
9. Ronnie Trash - Promoting Recycling
Ronnie Trash (modeled after Johnny Cash) sings a pro-recycling tune in a medley of "I Walk The Line" and "Ring of Fire," reimagined to address the topic of waste:
Indeed, Johnny Cash himself appeared on Sesame Street multiple times. (Check out the full list on the Muppet Wiki!)
10. Aristotle - Raising Awareness About Blindness
Aristotle is a blind Muppet. In this clip, Aristotle teaches Big Bird how to read using Braille:
11. Alex - Coping with Parental Incarceration
In June, Sesame Street introduced Alex, a Muppet whose father is in prison. Alex is designed to connect with the estimated 2.7 million children in the U.S. who have an incarcerated parent. Here's a clip:
12. Kermit the Frog - Championing Environmental Causes
While we typically associate Kermit the Frog with The Muppet Show, he was also an original character on Sesame Street. In 1980, Kermit was named UNICEF Spokesfrog after Jim Henson began collaborating with the United Nations Children's Fund, leading a Halloween campaign that year. (Check out an iconic photo of Henson, Kermit, children, and the classic 1980s UNICEF donation boxes.) Kermit later received an Honorary Doctorate of Amphibious Letters from Southampton College, New York, where he delivered a commencement speech on environmentalism.
Kermit also appeared in a promotional video for The Prince's Rainforests Project, alongside the Prince of Wales, Robin Williams, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, the Dalai Lama, and more. (If you're just looking for Kermit, he appears at the end.)
13. Snuffleupagus - Coping with Divorce
Snuffy and the enigmatic Mount Snuffleupagus. Image via YouTube / higman12.
Here's a bit of trivia! Sesame Street producers filmed an entire episode where Snuffy's parents went through a divorce. Unfortunately, the episode was deemed too upsetting, and it was never aired. Here's a quote from cast member Bob McGrath, via The Muppet Wiki:
... They wrote a full episode and recorded it, but it was just too heartbreaking for the test groups of kids. So they scrapped the entire episode and never attempted it again. It was simply too hard a topic for a 3-year-old to process.
The Muppet Wiki page about Snuffy's parents' divorce is incredible. While the Snuffy episode remains locked away, there is at least one indirect mention of divorce on Sesame Street—in Jim Henson's final "News Flash" performance as Kermit, Kermit interviews a bird whose parents now live in separate trees.
To tackle the issue of divorce, the creators of Sesame Street introduced Abby Cadabby in 2006, making her the child of divorced parents. Abby wasn't designed specifically to address divorce like Alex was created to deal with incarceration, but rather, divorce is simply a part of her story. In 2012, Sesame Street developed an entire resource kit to assist in teaching kids about divorce, with Abby Cadabby playing a key role. Check out a video from this kit:
This list merely scratches the surface of the many issues Sesame Street explores. For further details, visit the Sesame Workshop Initiatives page.
