Sesame Street is well known for its Muppets characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, the year man first landed on the moon. It is the longest running children’s program on US television and perhaps in the whole world. The show is produced by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.

Executive Producer Carol-Lynn Parente said in a statement that Sesame Street is promising to celebrate the anniversary with some changes:

“When you turn on your TV on November 10, you’ll see a brand-new and spectacularly beautiful opening sequence. We’re also launching an entirely new format for the show — the magazine format of Sesame Street, which has been evolving over the years, has been officially replaced with what we’re calling a ‘block’ format. And it’s just wonderful,” she said.

Google is honoring the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street by putting the show’s famous characters on its homepage. First to grace the homepage was Big Bird followed by Cookie Monster. Check out Google’s homepage right now and see if you know who is the featured muppet of the day.

Sesame Street Celebrates 40th Anniversary originally appeared on Starmometer on November 7, 2009.