2009 is a big year for Jim Henson and Sesame Workshop’s “Sesame Street” program. On Wednesday, November 4, the series celebrated its 40th Anniversary, and on Tuesday, November 10, the show will premiere its 40th season.

In the first episode of its 40th season, Michelle Obama will say “Happy Anniversary” with Elmo, while the two share a healthy snack.

Obama and Elmo

(Elmo and Michelle share a basket of vegetables. From: http://www.halogenlife.com/stories/3496-sesame-street-turns-40-michelle-...)

In its 40 year run thus far, the show has quickly begun to tackle contemporary issues, in addition to the traditional counting to 100 and memorizing the alphabet. In 2005, the Workshop introduced its first HIV-positive puppet, Kami, in order to teach children about pressing issues in nations near and far.

Kami

Kami brings a new tone to the Street From:

http://mentalfloss.cachefly.net/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/kami.jpg

Since its inception, the show has graced celebrity after celebrity, while its own Muppet stars rise to fame all their own. But the celebrities aren’t necessarily there to plug their newest movies, television series, or songs. Instead, they promote the importance of protecting the environment, staying safe, or braving the monster in your room.

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Hootie and the Blowfish teach traffic safety

For four decades, Sesame Street, the celebrities who make their cameos in it, and the Muppets who make a living “acting” on it, have taught kids past and present about the values that will go into making them better people, A to Z.

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A star-studded cast on “Sing, Sing A Song”, a classic on the Street