Move over, Anderson Cooper. Big Bird and the rest of the Sesame Street crew took over CNN on Saturday morning for a live town hall addressing children’s and parents’ concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Topics ranged from handwashing techniques to social-distancing policies to guidance on how to deal with grief and uncertainty. Elmo chatted with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about face masks, noting that he has “seen lots of people wearing masks outside but it’s not Halloween.”
The 90-minute town hall covered plenty of ground. CNN’s Erica Hill hosted a panel of Sesame Street’s monsters to chat about how they’re thanking essential workers, Oscar the Grouch issued a PSA about how much he loves staying home, and Grover wondered if the coronavirus exists in space (it doesn’t!). Big Bird also spoke with child psychologist Dr. Wanjiku F.M. Njoroge about the difficult emotions and feelings children might be experiencing right now, and remembered when he once dealt with grief: “When I lost my friend Mr. Hooper, I felt sad and confused,” Big Bird said. “I didn’t know what to do, but luckily I had my friends and my family there to help me.” Watch the full town hall here.
