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Whether it’s Ernie and Bert, Elmo the Cookie Monster, Kermit the Frog or Count Number – the cute characters of Sesame Street are known to everyone and fascinate across the generations. “Sesame Street”, as the original title goes, started on US television on 10 November 1969. After German television broadcast five episodes as a test in the original language in 1971, Sesame Street was broadcast in its German adaptation from 1 January 1973. In the 1970s, the German version revolutionised children’s television in this country with an educational programme that promoted social learning, creativity and self-confidence. From 1978 onwards, independent frame stories are created in Hamburg with German puppets such as Samson and Tiffy, the snail Finchen, the curious Feli Filu or the comedy duo Wolle and Pferd. They are supported by actors such as Dirk Bach, Gernot Endemann, Manfred Krug, Liselotte Pulver, Julia Stinshoff, Henning Venske and numerous guest stars.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the German Sesame Street, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) is presenting a large special exhibition entitled “50 Years and Counting” From 7 May to 7 January 2024, visitors young and old can immerse themselves in the entertaining world of the characters and take a look behind the scenes of the successful television format on 700 square metres. At the same time, Sesame Street reflects social change as a collective cultural asset. The show, created in cooperation with NDR, focuses for the first time on the design and handicraft production of the legendary programme: Who were the creative minds and skilled hands behind the imaginative characters, cartoons and settings? How were puppets, sets, costumes, props and music pieces developed and composed?

According to the museum, never before have so many original Sesame Street puppets been on display in Germany: The exhibition brings together 16 figures, which, in addition to the well-known superstars, also include Bibo, Abby Cadabby and the long-lost characters Rumpel, Tiffy and Herr von Bödefeld. In addition to the original figures and film sets as well as rarities from private collections, the likeable characters come to life in audio tracks with original voices from different times; and at the puppet building station children can create an individual figure and take selfies. Other interactive stations invite the whole family to join in. At the end, commissioned works by renowned illustrators such as Arne Bellstorf, Sheree Domingo, Aisha Franz, Anna Haifisch, Sascha Hammer and Mirko Röper will be shown. The exhibition is accompanied by a playful magazine with sticker sheets, hands-on pages for young and old Sesame Street fans and text contributions by Maya Götz, Viktoria Urmersbach, Helle Strandgaard Jensen and interviews with Samson actors Klaus Esch and Peter Röders as well as many Sesame Street creatives.


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