Sesame Street marks 40th anniversary

NEW YORK - Sesame Street is celebrating a big anniversary this month. The public television show, produced by the Children's Television Workshop, will mark its 40th year on November 10, the day the series debuted in 1969.

Google is paying homage to the kids program Wednesday by featuring Big Bird's feet in its homepage logo.

To promote the birthday the Muppets of Sesame Street are making the rounds on various TV shows. Big Bird will be a featured guest on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Wednesday night. And NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" will feature an appearance by Elmo and Rosita next Monday, according to the Muppet Newsflash , a blog about all things Muppets.

Next week the Muppets will be featured on FOX's "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" TV game show. Grover, Prairie Dawn, Zoe and Cookie Monster will co-host the game throughout the week.

To kick off the new season First Lady Michelle Obama is set to be featured in the first episode of the 40th season and will talk about planting a garden and eating healthy.

For Sesame Street fans who are a little older, the official Web site has a feature asking users to vote for their favorite videos from the '80s . The site has more than 40 clips to view and vote on, including "Me Lost Me Cookies At The Disco," featuring Cookie Monster at a disco; "Put Down the Duckie" with Ernie learning the Blues; "Gone With the Wind," a Monsterpiece Theatre presentation; and "Born to Add" which is a Bruce Springsteen parody song and currently the top vote getter.

The show says that it has remained relevant by keeping up with current technology and by changing the show's format to reflect the viewing needs of each new generation of preschoolers.

The show also continues to stay current with hot trends in popular culture, like this clip featuring "Mad Man."