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49 free Sesame Street trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
10 free Sesame Street trivia questions with answers. How well do you know Sesame Street? Put your knowledge to the test with our fun trivia quiz featuring 49 questions about the iconic educational television series. From Big Bird to Oscar the Grouch, see if you can answer all the questions correctly!
30 of 49 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In what year did the television show Sesame Street first premiere?
1969
1969's debut reached only about two-thirds of American TV homes yet drew 1.9 million households; the Muppets were added late, after test screenings found kids tuned out during the all-human street scenes.
Q 02Which two people created Sesame Street, an idea born at a 1966 dinner-party conversation?
Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett
Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett hatched the idea at a 1966 dinner party; Cooney later said the name came from 'open sesame', suggesting a place where exciting things happen.
Q 03What is the dwelling of the character Oscar the Grouch?
A trash can
A trash can: Oscar's can is famously bigger inside than out, housing a swimming pool and his pet elephant Fluffy among the junk.
Q 04What is the neighbourhood variety shop and diner on Sesame Street where Big Bird orders a birdseed milkshake?
Hooper's Store
Hooper's Store is the corner shop later run by David, Mr. Handford and then Alan; Big Bird's birdseed milkshake is its signature order.
Q 05What kind of animal is Oscar the Grouch's pet, Slimey?
A worm
Slimey once flew to the Moon in a 1998 storyline, the 'Worm Air and Space Agency' mission, and the German co-production gave its Grouch a caterpillar named Gustav modeled on him.
Q 06Which geometric shape is Telly Monster's absolute favorite?
Triangle
Triangle is Telly's favorite shape; he founded the Triangle Lovers' Club. Martin P. Robinson took over the chronic worrier in 1984, after the character began as a television-obsessed monster with spiralling eyes.
Q 07Who was instrumental in creating the Muppets for Sesame Street?
Jim Henson
Henson was initially reluctant to join a children's show, and Big Bird and Oscar were only created after test audiences lost interest in street scenes with no puppets.
Q 08What is the name of Oscar the Grouch's girlfriend?
Grundgetta
Grundgetta and Oscar love each other, though the relationship is somewhat rocky, as you would expect when both halves are Grouches.
Q 09Which of these was one of the original four human characters on Sesame Street?
Gordon
Gordon was the very first character introduced on the show and has been played by three actors, most durably Roscoe Orman from 1974; the other original humans were Susan, Mr. Hooper and Bob.
Q 10Which puppeteer performed Big Bird from the show's start until 2018?
Caroll Spinney
Matt Vogel, his understudy since 1996, took over the role full-time.
Q 11What is the name of Big Bird's teddy bear?
Radar
Radar is the teddy bear Big Bird keeps in his nest, named after M*A*S*H's Radar O'Reilly, who also clutched a teddy bear.
Q 12In 2000, Big Bird was named a Living Legend by which institution?
The Library of Congress
The Library of Congress named Big Bird a Living Legend in 2000 as part of its bicentennial celebration, honoring Americans who made creative contributions to the nation's life.
Q 13How old does Elmo describe himself as being?
Three and a half
Elmo says he is three and a half years old; his birthday is 3 February, and his 'Elmo's World' segment closed episodes from 1998.
Q 21Who performed Ernie after Jim Henson's death, from 1993 until 2014?
Steve Whitmire
Steve Whitmire, who also inherited Kermit, performed Ernie from 1993 to 2014; Billy Barkhurst followed until 2017, when Peter Linz took over.
Q 22Before he was named Grover in 1970, what was the blue monster called in season one?
Fuzzyface
Fuzzyface was the season-one name of the scruffy greenish-brown monster who became Grover in 1970; an earlier prototype, Gleep, had appeared in Santa's workshop on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967.
Q 23What happens whenever Count von Count finishes counting a set of items?
Thunder and lightning roll
Q 14Who took over performing Elmo after Kevin Clash resigned in late 2012?
Ryan Dillon
Ryan Dillon took over Elmo in 2013 after Kevin Clash resigned in November 2012; the character had begun as a spare red puppet nobody could crack until Clash gave him his voice in 1985.
Q 15Which 1966 snack-commercial monster puppet evolved into Cookie Monster?
The Wheel-Stealer
The Wheel-Stealer, built for unaired 1966 General Foods snack ads alongside the Flute-Snatcher and Crown-Grabber, evolved into Cookie Monster; Henson reused the puppet in a 1967 IBM training film, Coffee Break Machine.
Q 16What is the title of the blue biscuit-loving monster's signature song, first aired in the 1971-72 season?
"C Is for Cookie"
'C Is for Cookie', written by Joe Raposo, debuted in the 1971-72 third season and became Cookie Monster's signature anthem, with its refrain 'that's good enough for me'.
Q 17Where did Big Bird's original puppeteer find inspiration for Oscar the Grouch's voice?
A New York taxi driver
The name came from a 'magnificently rude' restaurateur whose place, Oscar's Salt of the Sea, Henson frequented.
Q 18The Grouch in the trash can was named after the rude owner of which New York restaurant?
Oscar's Salt of the Sea
Oscar's Salt of the Sea was a Manhattan seafood restaurant whose 'magnificently rude' owner inspired the Grouch's name; Jim Henson and director Jon Stone were regulars.
Q 19Which of these is listed among Bert's famously dull interests?
Paper clips
Frank Oz, who performed him from 1969 to 2006, cheerfully called the character 'boring'; pigeons and oatmeal round out the list.
Q 20Bert and Ernie share their names with two minor characters from which classic film?
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life has a cop named Bert and a cab driver named Ernie; Sesame Street writers call the match a coincidence, and the pair walk past that very scene on a TV in Elmo Saves Christmas.
Thunder and lightning roll whenever the Count finishes a tally, even indoors or on sunny days, followed by his staccato 'Ah-Ah-Ah!' laugh.
Q 24The Count's castle is home to many bats, a cat named Fatatita, and a wolf named what?
Yuba
Establishing shots in the 1970s used Central Park's Belvedere Castle, and visitors always remark on the squeaky door.
Q 25In which year did the adults finally see Mr. Snuffleupagus, ending the running gag that he was imaginary?
1985
In 1985 the adults finally saw Mr. Snuffleupagus; the writers ended the gag so children would not fear that grown-ups disbelieve them, a concern sharpened by child-abuse reporting at the time.
Q 26What is Mr. Snuffleupagus's first name?
Aloysius
Aloysius Snuffleupagus, Big Bird's best friend, has a younger sister named Alice; Mr. Snuffleupagus is the surname, though Big Bird just calls him Snuffy.
Q 27The landmark episode in which Big Bird learns that Mr. Hooper has died aired on which holiday in 1983?
Thanksgiving
It aired on Thanksgiving Day, 24 November 1983, chosen so parents would be home to watch with their children; child-development experts helped the writers address the death honestly rather than recast the role.
Q 28Which actor played Mr. Hooper from the show's premiere until his death in 1982?
Will Lee
Mr. Hooper's first name was Harold.
Q 29Sesame Street co-founder Lloyd Morrisett was a vice president of which philanthropic body?
Carnegie
Carnegie: Morrisett was a vice president of the Carnegie Corporation, which funded Cooney's 1966 feasibility study and joined the Ford Foundation and the U.S. Office of Education in the $8 million launch grants.
Q 30Until June 2000, the organisation that produces the show was known by what name?
Children's Television Workshop
Children's Television Workshop, founded in 1968, became Sesame Workshop in June 2000; Cooney said it would borrow commercial television's techniques to teach young children.