Elmo, some grown-ups stop by Carnegie Science Center to celebrate ‘Sesame Street’
Class, your teacher today will be Elmo. As part of the “Sesame Street” 50th anniversary tour, the excitable bright red Muppet will be leading a few Little Learners Clubhouse activities at the Carnegie Science Center on the North Shore Friday morning. The kids were preregistered for this part of the private celebration.
Grown-ups will be there as well; the event is not open to the public. Speakers include Mayor Bill Peduto; Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald; Sheila Kelly, Sesame Workshop’s chief development officer; Jason Brown, interim director at the science center; and Sally McCrady, president and chair of the PNC Foundation.
PNC is a sponsor of the tour, as part of its “Grow Up Great” initiative.
Community interaction “continues to fulfill our long-term mission,” said
Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president for U.S. social impact at Sesame Workshop. “From the very beginning, from the time that ‘Sesame Street’ came on television, we also had community and family engagement.
“So this wonderful event in Pittsburgh is really a continued reflection of our commitment, not only augmenting children, helping them become smarter, stronger and kinder, but also all of our working community, and particularly with our partners such as PNC.”
School readiness and early learning are themes of Friday’s event, which begins at 9:45 a.m. As “Sesame Street” fans realize, Elmo knows a lot of things. He will walk children through studies of insects, seasons, music, balance, weight and transportation.
“Sesame Street” is bringing a road tour to 10 cities this summer; Pittsburgh is the third stop. In addition to Friday’s event, there is a free family festival on Schenley Park’s Flagstaff Hill in Oakland on Saturday. Games and activities are promised, as well as a stage show.
The 10 a.m.-3 p.m. event, which required an RSVP, is sold out.
Nonprofit Sesame Workshop will be in Pittsburgh over three days beginning Thursday and will shoot segments for the show, which airs on HBO and PBS. It promises a “star-studded” anniversary TV special, to debut in November.
Elmo knows his alphabet, and he also has a few talking points to share Friday.
“One of the things he’s going to be doing is talking about this wonderful celebration, our 50th anniversary,” Ms. Betancourt said. “It’s about bringing the joy and, again, the connection that Elmo and many of our Muppets have with children and families.
“I think we are celebrating this together. We would not be around for 50 years if we were not engaging children and grown-ups alike. As a nonprofit organization, that’s sort of what we do, and we hope to do it for another 50 years.”