"35 Years of ABCs, 123s and a Very Big Bird"

"Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?"

Written and composed by Joe Raposo, Jon Stone and Bruce Hart, this theme song serves as the opener to the children's television series that, for many, presented itself as more than an educational program.

"It was an adventure to watch when I was younger, and I think it made me use my imagination. It made me feel like I was on 'Sesame Street,'" said Harjot Dhingra, a junior business administration major nostalgically.

Sesame Street has been in the business of helping young children learn about numbers, letters, their emotions, the importance of family and friends, positive social interaction, and the importance of education, for 35 years.

Using music, games and funny-looking characters, "Sesame Street" has implanted itself into American culture and the memories of most who grew up singing and dancing along with Big Bird and the gang.

"I watched it every single day and I think it taught me things that weren't taught in school like manners and about being polite," said Kannan Parikh, a sophomore biotechnology major.

To celebrate 35 years of dedication to learning, the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) will air a one-hour commemorative special, " Sesame Street Presents: The Street We Live On," at 8 p.m. April 4. The audience will get to experience the history of Sesame Street through the eyes of Elmo, one of the popular residents of "Sesame Street."

According to PBS.com, following the anniversary of a show that is a milestone for children's television, will be a new episode to start off the thirty fifth year of fun, laughter, games, and learning on "Sesame Street." Some famous faces like Ruben Studdard, Norah Jones and Venus Williams will visit the street to recap their favorite moments from the last 35 years.

Because the show is broadcasted all over the world, it has a very diverse audience and reaches out to children of many different races and ethnicities.

"I learned a lot about American culture from watching 'Sesame Street' because I was born in India and I grew up in Kuwait.I learned about the types of foods Americans ate like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because we didn't have peanut butter in Kuwait," said Imran Khan, a senior international business major.

"Sesame Street" began its legacy of educating children on November 10, 1969 and it became the trendsetter in children's programming, and it allowed children to watch and be entertained and educated at the same time.

"I watched 'Sesame Street' in the '70s, and I loved it. I think that in my generation, there weren't many children's programs to watch so it was either Sesame Street or Gilligan's Island and I wasn't allowed to watch Gilligan's Island. If I didn't watch Sesame Street, I was stuck watching boring programs like cooking and the like on PBS," said Beth Stover, an English lecturer.

While young adults and older individuals hold Sesame Street in high regard as the premiere in children's educational programs, kids these days have a wide variety of newer programs from which to choose, but some still settle down to "Sesame Street" every once in a while.

"I like 'Sesame Street' but I like the show 'Arthur' better," said Robert Thomas, a 5-year-old kindergarten student.

According to Stover, children such as Thomas and her 7-year-old daughter have a variety of shows from which to choose, so if "Sesame Street" doesn't keep their attention, they can switch to another program, a privilege she did not have when she was growing up.

Some feel that even if "Sesame Street" were not the first of its kind, it would still stand as a model of perfection for channeling the high energy of childhood into creative thought and learning skills.

"Sesame Street is a very creative show and that is why it has been around for so many years," said Lindsey Schmidt, a sophomore social sciences major. "I think it's a cool way of giving children a strong foundation to begin their education and ways of learning so, happy anniversary 'Sesame Street.'"