Pedal Power

Images from YouTube

Pedal Power was a science element at Sesame Studio that demonstrated how electricity could be generated by pedaling a stationary bicycle. As the kids pedaled, a neon board would light up. The faster they pedaled the brighter the light became.

Pedal Power opened with the park in 1980 and lasted at least until the late 1990s.

The Shadow Room

I got an email yesterday from a reader named Jeff. It read "The was a cool room at SP when I was a kid, but I barely remember it. It was called the shadow room or something. You would stand up against a wall casting a shadow. A camera would flash and when you walked away the shadow stayed on the wall. Does that ring a bell?"


The Shadow Room was one of the science elements at Sesame Place from 1980 until (at least) 1999.

Shadow Wall image from The Herald News

A 1980 Christian Science Monitor article detailed the author's trip to Sesame Place. The Shadow Room was described as such:

We entered a chamber called the Shadow Room. Of all the playthings I sampled and saw, electronic and otherwise, this one most took my fancy. You stand against a blank wall in the semidarkness and an overhead strobe erupts with a sudden flash. You step away and your shadow is still there, temporarily and vividly pasted to the wall.

 The Reading Eagle also described the attraction:

An article about the Texas Sesame Place said there was a two way mirror outside the Shadow Room so visitors (presumably parents of the kids in the room) could look inside the room.

The trick to The Shadow Room was a phosphorescent wall. Think of it as your standard glow in the dark material.

Kids lined up in front of the phosphorescent wall:

Image from Blogger

A bright flash of light shines at the wall. The areas of the phosphorescent wall, that received the light, glow. The areas blocked by the kids create the shadow.

Image from Blogger

The Shadow Room was in Sesame Studio and was one of the last of the science elements to leave the Studio. It still remained until 1999 (along with Teleidoscope Temple and the food puppets) in the area that is behind the audience at Elmo's World. The area is now closed to the public.
I believe it's used as a character changing area (since I have often seen Count and Zoe walk behind me as I sat with my son watching the show.)

Thanks to Jeff for the email. PLEASE email me if you have any memories of this or anything else at Sesame Place! You can find an email link in the sidebar on the left.

Big Bird and Little Bird at Sesame Studio

Image from Flickr

Here is a shot of a Little Bird statue and a Big Bird head at the Sesame Street replica from Sesame Studio.

Behind the characters you can see some decorative artwork.

In later years both were removed and a cardboard cutout of Big Bird's head was installed.

Image from Picasa

It looks like the area behind him was no longer lit. Perhaps this area was being used for storage.

This entire Sesame Street replica was eventually removed after the larger outdoor replica was built.

Harmonograph

1980 Image from YouTube

The Harmonograph was a science exhibit at Sesame Place that opened with the park in 1980. A large sheet of paper was attached to the top of a pendulum and children would "draw" a picture by swinging the Harmonograph. Children got to keep the drawing when they were finished. 

Image from Mid Cities Daily News

Teleidoscope Temple

 Images from eBay

The "Teleidoscope Temple" was one of the science exhibits at Sesame Place that opened with the park in 1980. You would enter a small room of mirrors and your image would be repeated to infinity. This was located in Sesame Studio and existed (at least) until the late 1990s.

Cheshire Cat

One of the "science attractions" in Sesame Studio was a mirror setup called "Cheshire Cat".

Image from YouTube

A 1981 St. Joseph News-Press article said the exhibit "splits vision with a vertical mirror."

The exhibit is long gone. The image above is from a Texas Sesame Place commercial, but most of the footage was clearly shot in Langhorne.
I assume the commercial was shot before the Texas park was finished and the Cheshire Cat featured was in Pennsylvania.

The name Cheshire Cat  refers to the character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland who could appear and disappear at will.




Incidentally, Cookie Monster played "The Cheshire Cookie Cat" in a 2008 Sesame Street DVD:

Image from MuppetWiki

Sesame Studio

Sesame Studio is the name of an theater that currently houses Elmo's World Live:

 Image from IGOUGO

When the park opened in 1980, Sesame Studio was a very different attraction. One of the popular features was the Ernie's bathtub photo op:

1985 Image from YouTube

Children could step into a bathtub with Ernie and his rubber duckie:

1988 Image from YouTube

The bathtub was located next to a large, indoor, replica of The Sesame Street Set. 

 1988 Image from YouTube

This replica was phased out after the introduction of the larger outdoor neighborhood in 1988:

2012 Image

The Sesame Street Set was located next to a small chroma key theater:

 1985 Image from YouTube

The Sesame Street Set featured Big Bird and Little Bird peeking out of the nest and Prairie Dawn, Grover and Count Von Count looking out the windows.

1985 Images from YouTube

Kids could also pose for pictures inside Oscar's trash can (which was actually a half trash can open in the back.)

 Image from ThirteenLove

There was also a second floor balcony (which included a walkway to the upstairs exit of the studio.)

1985 Images from YouTube 

The chroma key stage would show children how the special effects were done on their favorite TV shows.

1985 Images from YouTube

The studio was transformed in the 1990s to create the larger theater that currently shows Elmo's world. For a time, the larger theater existed alongside exhibits like a room of mirrors (called Teleidoscope Temple) and these play puppets:

1999 Image

I'm not sure what the space is used for today, but it seems like the current theater only occupies two thirds of the building.


2015 UPDATE:
When working on the Sesame Place book I found that some of the science elements were also located on the second floor of the Computer Gallery.

Episode 16 of The Purple Stuff Podcast features a story about Return of the Jedi special effects being shown in the blue screen theater,

Food puppets from Sesame Studio

Here are some pictures from 1999 that show some puppets that were at Sesame Studio.

This was a small stage that resembled a food counter (likely Mr. Hooper's store from Sesame Street). There were three puppets; two resembled pies and one resembled a salad.

Look closely at the image above and you can see pictures of Sesame Street actors Bob McGrath and Roscoe Orman attached to the cabinet above the stage (counter.)

The entire setup was behind glass. Kids could enter the display from underneath and operate the puppets through holes in the bottom of the stage.

The Amazing Adventures of Elmo and Zoe

The Amazing Adventures of Elmo and Zoe was a Sesame Place show that ran from 1997 to 2000 in Sesame Studio. It replaced The Wild Duckie Chase (a similar style show that opened in 1989.)

The show took place on a "green screen" studio giving kids a chance to act in a show with Sesame Street characters through chromakey technology:

Kids would walk across the stage would interact with pre-taped Sesame Street footage. Children would parade in front of Big Bird:

The story involved Zoe going to outer space. Big Bird watched through binoculars:

The audience was told to act excited as they were included in the adventure:

Then a group of children dance with Elmo before he jumped on a trampoline and into outer space to save Zoe:

Today the theater is home to the very popular Elmo's World Live show:

Image from IGOUGO