Meet the Muppets: A Guide to the 'Sesame Street' Characters

"The Emmy-award winning educational television show, produced by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, premiered in 1969, in collaboration with famous puppeteer Jim Henson. "Sesame Street" follows a community of adorable Muppets - including Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch and Bert and Ernie - living in a fictional neighborhood of New York City (although in 2019, a Manhattan intersection was officially renamed "Sesame Street" to honor its 50th anniversary)."

"Not only do the Muppets teach children about literacy, numeracy and the ABCs through singing, dancing, empathy and friendship, "Sesame Street" embraces important and sensitive topics: parental addiction and incarceration, divorce, autism, disability, homelessness, HIV and race. One 1977 episode featured singer and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie breastfeeding her baby - one of the first instances that breastfeeding was shown on TV."

""I've been told that I'm a lark, Oscar says that I'm part homing pigeon, but I think I'm a 'Bigus Canarius.' Look it up," Big Bird told Wired of the made-up species in 2017. On Sesame Workshop 's website, Big Bird is described as a "compassionate" bird with a "BIG imagination." "Reflective, thoughtful, and sensitive to the feelings of others, Big Bird models the way children learn and face big emotions and big challenges," reads the website."

Sesame Street premiered in 1969 and was produced by the non-profit Sesame Workshop in collaboration with Jim Henson. The program centers on a fictional New York neighborhood inhabited by Muppets such as Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, and Ernie. The Muppets teach literacy, numeracy, and the ABCs through singing, dancing, empathy, and friendship. The show also addresses sensitive social topics including parental addiction, incarceration, divorce, autism, disability, homelessness, HIV, and race. A 1977 episode included on-screen breastfeeding by singer Buffy Sainte-Marie. Big Bird is an 8-foot-2-inch yellow bird described as compassionate, imaginative, and emotionally reflective. Mr. Snuffleupagus resembles a long-lashed elephant or woolly mammoth and is slow-talking and plodding.

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