The Sesame Workshop Blog » Elmo

Sesame Street Swings by the White House for the Annual Easter Egg Roll

Graydon Gordian — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:59:15 +0000

The beloved Sesame Street Muppets have a long and storied history of visiting the White House. But that doesn’t mean we’re any less excited when we get invited back! This past weekend Gordon, Abby Cadabby, Rosita, and Elmo stopped by home of the first family to take part in the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll.

The theme this year was “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!” The day was focused on ways families could eat healthy and stay physically active, a cause to which both the first lady Michelle Obama and Sesame Workshop are dedicated.

To learn more about the White House’s Easter Egg Roll, click here. To learn more about Sesame Workshop’s commitment to encourage healthy living habits in our children, click here.

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Elmo, Cookie Monster and the Rest of the Gang Take in a Baseball Game

Graydon Gordian — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 20:51:21 +0000

On Wednesday Elmo, Grover, Rosita, Cookie Monster, and Katie, a Muppet created especially for Sesame Street‘s USO tour, stopped by an Arizona Diamondbacks game in Phoenix. Elmo even got to throw out the first pitch. Check out the photos from their trip to the ballgame.

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An Elmo a Day Keeps Apples on the Way

Jennifer Kotler — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:31:08 +0000

Elmo is the man… err, monster these days! Headlines all across the nation are giving him credit for making apples more appealing. A new study published this month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine conducted by researchers at Cornell University found that children ages 8 to 11 were 65 percent more likely to add an apple to their lunch in their school cafeteria when Elmo stickers were placed on the apples compared to when the apples had no stickers. Sesame Workshop had no input or knowledge into this study until it came out in the press, but it reconfirms our own and others’ research on the power of beloved characters in influencing food choices and other behaviors.

Since 2005 Sesame Workshop has been committed to an initiative called Healthy Habits for Life in which we promote healthy eating, physical activity and rest and relaxation. At the start of that initiative we brought several child nutrition and health experts in to help craft our messages. We also conducted our own research into children’s perceptions of healthy eating as well as the influence of characters on food choice. In an initial pilot study that was presented at the Society for Research in Child Development in 2005, we found that placing an Elmo sticker on a picture of broccoli increased children’s self reported preference for that broccoli, enough so that it became equal to a piece of chocolate.

In a larger follow up study published online in April in the Journal of Health Communication we found that although stickers of Elmo and other favorite characters did not increase the appeal of healthy foods equal to that of more sugary or salty snacks, we were able to increase the appeal of any food when it contained a sticker of a Sesame Street character compared to a different food without a character or with an unknown character. Moreover, children were more likely to taste pieces of a healthy food when it was labeled with Elmo.

Researchers tell us that it can take around 10-15 times for children to acclimate to an unknown food, especially those that are not naturally sugary. The more strategies that parents and caregivers can use to make those attempts to try new foods more enjoyable, the more likely children may be to persevere. Decorating plates and cups with stickers of favorite characters, character signage and activities in grocery stores, or arranging vegetables in characters likeness, which we have seen on Pinterest, may be particularly useful ways to encourage healthy eating.

For policy makers and food companies, the accumulation of research on young children, food and branded characters is particularly informative. To ensure that our young children are receiving their daily nutritional needs, we can all be creative about how we recommend and use the characters children trust, respect and love to promote healthy behaviors.

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Elmo, Abby and Grover Hang Out with Team USA in London

Graydon Gordian — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:45:22 +0000

Elmo, Abby and Grover with U.S. Olympian Reid Priddy and his family.

Playing is far more than fun and games: It helps children develop emotionally, socially and physically. That’s why Elmo, Grover and Abby Cadabby headed to London last week to hang out with U.S. Olympians like Allison Schmitt, Reid Priddy and Dawn Harper. Check out their photos from London! From the look of it, everyone had a great time.

Grover, Abby and Elmo with U.S. Olympian and Silver Medalist Dawn Harper

Grover, Abby and Elmo at the Today Show in London

U.S. Olympian and Gold Medalist Allison Schmitt

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Congratulations to Kevin Clash on His Most Recent Emmy Award

Graydon Gordian — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:17:17 +0000

For the second week in a row we are proud to announce that a member of the Sesame Workshop team has been honored with an Emmy award. On Saturday night Kevin Clash, the performer of Elmo, was awarded the Emmy for best performer in a children’s series. The Emmy is Kevin’s 21st overall Emmy, his eighth as a performer and his fourth in a row in the category. We also wanted to congratulate Sesame Workshop performers Carroll Spinney and Leslie Carrara, who were nominated for the award. The imagination and talent of Kevin, Carroll and Leslie have long been an indispensable part of Sesame Workshop’s ability to help children across the world laugh and learn.

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Elmo’s Birthday Party: Tons of Fun!

Graydon Gordian — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:46:00 +0000

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Elmo’s birthday party was last week and everyone had lots of fun! Lots of kids and their parents got to hang out with Elmo and Nitya Vidyasagar, who plays Leela on Sesame Street. Everyone ate cake, took part in fun coloring activities and watched “Elmo’s World: Birthdays,” part of a new home DVD release from Sesame Street. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and celebrated with Elmo!

Photo Credit: Zach Hyman

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This Week in Sesame Street: Elmo’s Birthday

Graydon Gordian — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:17:30 +0000

It’s birthday season here at Sesame Street. For the second week in a row we’re celebrating the birthday of one of our beloved Sesame Street Muppets^TM. Last week we celebrated Ernie’s birthday. Now it’s Elmo’s turn to have cake and open presents.

Performed by Kevin Clash, Elmo has gone from being an unheralded baby monster to one of the most popular furry friends Sesame Street has ever had. Elmo turns 3^½ this year – Elmo always turns 3^½ on February 3rd. In honor of his birthday, here are 3^½ fun facts about Elmo you might not know:

1. Elmo is the only non-human to ever testify before the U.S. Congress. In 2002 he was invited to testify before the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee to urge more funding for music research and music education in schools.
2. Elmo also appears on Sesame Workshop co-productions in China, Denmark, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan and South Africa.
3. Elmo’s favorite food is wasabi, which is why his eyes are so wide open when he’s awake.
3^½. Elmo loves you (but you already knew that).

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