Sesame Workshop/Summary

Logo descriptions by Nicholas Aczel, WileE2005, and Juniorfan88

Logo captures by mr3urious, V of Doom, snelfu, Muzzarino and Mr. Logo Lord

Editions by V of Doom, Muzzarino and CuriousGeorge60

Background: First known as "Children's Television Workshop", this non-profit production company was founded in 1968 by Joan Ganz Cooney to create the critically-acclaimed children's show Sesame Street. Until 2000, CTW has produced shows such as 3-2-1 Contact, Square One, Cro, Ghostwriter, The Electric Company, Big Bag, Dragon Tales, and many other edutainment titles. In 2000, the company was renamed to "Sesame Workshop" to symbolize their move beyond producing only television shows and to capitalize on the Sesame Street brand.

Children's Television Workshop

1st Logo (Sesame Street Custom Logo 1)
(July 21, 1969-May 20, 1983)

Nicknames: "The Plaque", "CTW Plaque", "The Still Plaque"

Logo: We have 2 still images. Still image 1 was of a regular on the show (sometimes more than one) (i.e. Big Bird, Oscar, Susan, Gordon, Bob, etc.) holding up the Sesame Street title logo, which was a rectangular street sign in dark green and had a yellow border. Some small text in a semi-circle above the rectangle read CTW, which stands for "Children's Television Workshop". Still image 2 featured another regular, (again, sometimes more than one, sometimes none at all), holding up a fancy-looking plaque made of marble. The name:

CHILDREN'S
TELEVISION
WORKSHOP

appears in blue, black, or pale green in front of the plaque. The text was written more sloppy for a long time, but starting around 1979, it was written more neatly. Initially, this would be done in front of a blue background, but around 1976, it was switched to a random outdoor location (such as Central Park, the 123 Sesame Street apartment steps, etc.).

Variants:

• The text on the plaque will occasionally appear black or pale green.
• On several earlier episodes from the first two seasons, a chyroned-in copyright date saying "COPYRIGHT © CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP (year)" appeared below or near the middle. The font would also very. This version was retired when the copyright information was moved to the funding credits.
• On the first pilot episode, the real Sesame Street sign was used instead.
• The beginning of Big Bird in China had the words "THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" written in an Asian-style font with a Chinese text translation on the right, all on a red background.
• On 1976-77 episodes of Sesamstraat, the logo is in a cursive font and there's no plaque.
  • On Bonjour Sesame, the logo is in a computer typeface and there's no plaque here either.

Trivia: The plaque used in this logo also appears throughout the beginning and ending segments with Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog in the Sesame Street Pitch Reel. At the end of the last scene, the camera zooms up to the plaque.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: The closing of the Sesame Street credits theme plays, as a random character says "Sesame Street is a production of the Children's Television Workshop."

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variants:

• Some episodes would have characters bidding the viewer goodbye or good night (if the episode takes place at night) after saying the spiel.
• On Episode 666, Bert adds a weary "Good night" at the end.
• Episode 406 features Cookie Monster, after saying the line, adding "...whatever that is."
• Episode 810 has Count von Count adding "Ah ah ah, bye-bye!" after saying the spiel.
• When Maria would announce the sponsors, she would typically add "¡Adiós!" after saying the line.
• On Episode 4, after the spiel, Oscar adds, "You call this a production? It looks like it was produced by Big Bird! Talk about eggs!"
• On one episode from season 7, Big Bird says, "Sesame Street is a production of... Oscar?" and then Oscar replies, "I'm not gonna say the Children's Television Workshop!" to which Big Bird adds, "Okay, don't."
• On Episode 930, a disco version of the theme is used.
• On Episode 1060, Oscar the Grouch adds "Have a rotten day!" after saying the spiel.
• On episode 1190, after Olivia and Biff say the spiel, Biff says "The Children's Television Workshop? I didn't know that." and Olivia chuckles.
• On the infamous episode 847, often nicknamed the "Wicked Witch of the West episode," the Witch (reprised by Margaret Hamilton) lets out a small cackle after saying the spiel.
• On the episode where C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) visit Sesame Street, Threepio reads the spiel, after which Artoo beeps. Threepio responds with "How should I know what the Children's Television Workshop is?"
• On at least two occasions, "has been" replaces "is."

Availability: Uncommon. Appeared on the first fourteen seasons of Sesame Street.

• It is retained on modern prints of these older episodes, such as on the Sesame Street: Old School DVD box sets, the Sesame Street Unpaved syndication package on Noggin, and several HBO reruns and Max streaming prints.
  • Strangely, the HBO prints used this logo twice, once from the closing itself and second from the ending credits. This error is fixed on most episodes on Max.
• Otherwise, check your old tapes.

Editor's Note: Well-remembered by those who grew up with Sesame Street during this time.

2nd Logo (The Electric Company Custom Logo)
(October 25, 1971-April 15, 1977)

Nickname: "The Electric Company Logo"

Logo: On episodes of The Electric Company, the closing credits always featured the animated opening title to the show, in which the logo is seen in a cloud-like shape which in turn is seen with several cloud-like shapes and a box that's connected to both sides of the screen. The words "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY" wave, wiggle, and change to the words "THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in orange. Afterwards, the box-like shape would open up and allow the CTW logo to wiggle away.

Trivia: The logo (and end credits) was made by Dolphin Productions.

Variants:

• On the first two seasons, this logo was just two stills of "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY" and "THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in the cloud-shape. The text was also in white.
• On episode 290, as the words "The Electric Company" transition into "The Children's Television Workshop", a series of four blue Scanimated lightning bolts (which appeared during the opening title graphic) converge toward the center and then retract; once the voiceover says "The Children's Television Workshop", the logo stays on screen a few seconds longer than usual, then immediately cuts away to the copyright slide; the box did not open up, and the words did not disappear into the center of the screen.

FX/SFX: The words changing/zooming away, the box opening up. Typical Scanimate effects.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: The closing theme was usually heard, and a character from the TV show would always say, "The Electric Company gets its power from...the Children's Television Workshop."

Availability: Extremely rare. Appeared on the original version of The Electric Company.

• Although the series no longer runs on TV, the logo can still be found on the show's two "best of" DVDs, released in 2006, as well as on iTunes.

Editor's Note: The logo is pretty funky being a product of the Seventies with the tie-dye-ish design of the box and the clouds and the pattern seen on the words inside.

3rd Logo
(November 27, 1978-December 9, 1983, 1988-1989)

Nicknames: "The Orange Snake", "The (Orange) CTW Snake," "The CTW Box", "Cheesy CTW"

Logo: On a black background, four vertical orange rectangles appear in the center of the screen and start transforming into the letters in "ctw" simultaneously. The rectangle on the left stretches slightly to the right and left until it forms a square, then curves to the top and bottom to form a "c". The rectangle in the middle stretches on all sides vertically and horizontally until it resembles a cross with the top right corner slightly bent, then the bottom side stretches out some more and curves to the right to form a lower case "t". The two rectangles on the far right stretch in opposite horizontal directions until they connect each other in the middle with a bend in one of the quadrilateral corners for emphasis. The two quadrilaterals, along with the middle right corner of the "t", stretch to the bottom to form the "w". The small blue text CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP appears in the top left corner where the "t" and "w" connect.

Variants:

• On the first two seasons of 3-2-1 Contact, the closing logo is still (the animated version appeared at the beginning as an opening logo).
• There was a filmed variant where the forming-rectangle animation was much slower, and among finishing, the blue text appears above it. The videotaped variant as seen on 3-2-1 Contact speeds up the forming animation, then freezes on the finished "CTW" logo for a few seconds until the "Children's Television Workshop" text appears above it.
• Some early episodes of 3-2-1 Contact had the 'CTW' words in a pinkish-red color and the "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" text in bright green (though this could be from film quality).
• An in-credit version appears on the 1979 10th anniversary special, A Walking Tour of Sesame Street.
• Another in-credit version appears with the NOS logo in blue on 1988 episodes of Sesamstraat.
• There is a still version on a navy blue background where the logo is orange, has a white outline, and is still. Below is the text "a public service message from NBC". This variant is seen on the 1982 NBC PSA, Betcha Don't Know.

FX/SFX: The rectangles stretching; cel animation.

Music/Sounds: A pitter-pattery synthesizer tune which sounds like outer-space music, and once the logo completes, we hear a "ding" at the end to mark the appearance of the "Children's Television Workshop" text. This typically accompanied the videotaped variant.

Music/Sound Variant: On Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, we hear a dreamy 8-note tune accompanied by bells and strings. This was used with the filmed variant of the logo.

Availability: Ultra rare.

• The standard logo with music is only known to appear at the beginning of the first 2 seasons of 3-2-1 Contact, but was plastered with the Sesame Workshop "House of Boredom" logo on 2000-03 airings on Noggin.
• It also appeared on original broadcasts and the 1987 Random House Home Video VHS prints of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. The Sony Wonder VHS reissue replaced it with the next logo, while the DVD releases have no logos at all.

Editor's Note: This logo is noted for its design, cheesy animation, creepy electronic music, and dark environment. It's pretty strange considering the programming they were focused on.

4th Logo
(November 16, 1983-September 2, 1997-January 12 1999-November 9, 1999-December 14, 1999)

Nicknames: "Sparks", "Sparks of Doom", "The CTW Sparks", "Tinnitus Sparks", "Cheesy CTW II", "Cheesy Sparks"

Logo: On a black background, a spark flies across the top left corner of the screen, writing the word "CHILDREN'S" in blue. It shifts to the middle left corner and writes "TELEVISION". Then it shifts to the bottom left corner and writes "WORKSHOP". A ray of light flies from the bottom of the screen and "explodes". The logo "glitters". All the words are written in ITC Busorama.

Variants:

• On 3-2-1 Contact and the first season of Big Bag, the logo is already formed. The latter also featured the end "glittering" animation on the logo. This variant was (surprisingly) also found at the end of a PBS airing of Elmo Says BOO!
• On Sesame Street VHS releases from Random House Home Video, this fades to the My Sesame Street Home Video logo when finished.
• On 1993 video releases of Plaza Sésamo, the logo is shown on the bottom right of the screen with the Televisa logo at the top left. On 1995 episodes, both logos are in 3D and sometimes spin around each other.
• On non-USA airings of Koki, there is an in-credit variant.
• On a 1988 pledge-drive special of Sesame Street (later released on video as Put Down the Duckie), the logo is superimposed over the end of the final scene.
• A rare still variant on a dark blue background can be seen at the end of Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1983.
• On CD-ROM games (such as Sesame Street Letters and Sesame Street Numbers), the logo is white and is still. This variant uses a black background, but Sesame Street Art Workshop used a maroon background (due to a color scheme error). The logo is pixelated on most games, but is sometimes in HD.
• Sesame Street Numbers uses the CD-ROM variant (due to it being a CD-ROM game) however after a couple seconds the logo folds up and the camera zooms out to reveal that it is on a balloon, which, with a few other balloons, carries up Elmo (who is holding the balloons) and reveals the game's title card.

FX/SFX: The spark writing the words, the ray of light flying and "exploding", the "glittering" of the text.

Music/Sounds: 3 E flat minor synthesizer scales quickly descending, each one heard over the spark animations forming each word, followed by a laser zap. This was the most common sound variant in this logo, heard on many VHS releases of Sesame Street from 1986-1994, and then returning again in 1995.

Music/Sound Variants:

• From August 17-30, 1994, it had a Christmas like sound to it. In this one, there are 3 sets of ascending bells, with 1 ascending synthesized autoharp tune playing shortly after, culminating into a "clang" sound with the sparkling sound in the background and a "ding" when the text starts sparkling. This is shown on The Best of Elmo, the original 1994 VHS of Sesame Street Celebrates Around the World, and the both Random House (1994) and Sony Wonder (1996) releases of Put Down the Duckie. This variant also made surprise appearances on the 1997-99 DVDs of Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration (even though the 1993-96 VHS releases use the regular version) and Sesame Street: Do The Alphabet.
• Similarly enough, Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration uses a similar variant almost identical to The Best of Elmo variant, except it has 3 ascending xylophone notes in addition to some bells, which also culminates into a clang sound, and a slightly different "ding" noise at the end, which is an even rarer variant. This has been uploaded by Star Dragon Dust on YouTube.
• The still variant at the end of Big Bag features the end of the show's closing theme.
• On Sesame Street games for the View-Master Interactive Vision, the logo is silent.
• The CD-ROM variant uses the opening theme of the game, however Sesame Street Letters and Sesame Street Numbers use the original 1969-1992 Sesame Street theme song.

Availability: Uncommon, despite plastering with newer logos. Its longevity is amazing, having been in use for nearly fourteen years and surviving into the late Nineties when CGI was becoming dominant.

• The standard logo appears on later seasons of 3-2-1 Contact, and various Sesame Street direct-to-video productions (not including the main series itself), alongside several other shows produced by the company on both TV and home media.

Editor's Note: Another odd logo from CTW that may arguably be worse than the previous logo with its ominous visuals, moving sparks, lasers, and electronic sounds. However, for some, it may also bring back fond memories of Sesame Street home videos and 3-2-1 Contact.

5th Logo (Sesame Street Custom Logo 2)
(November 21, 1983-March 8, 1984)

Logo: Superimposed on the screen is an outline of the Sesame Street logo.(the color and positioning varied depending on the episode). This is followed by the CTW logo in its usual font, in the same color.

Variant: Some episodes have the CTW logo horizontally arranged (similar to the next custom logo).

FX/SFX/: The logos appearing and disappearing. Very simple and crude effects.

Music/Sounds: Same as the first Sesame Street custom logo.

Availability: Uncommon; this was used for the first 79 episodes of Season 15 on Sesame Street, and can be found at the end of Sesame Street episodes from the time period. Check your old tapes!

Editor's Note: Same as the 1st logo.

6th Logo (Sesame Street Custom Logo 3)
(March 9, 1984-May 18, 1995)

Logo: Superimposed on the screen (moving or not), we see the Sesame Street logo flipping in (the position varies depending on the episode). This is followed by the white words "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in its usual font sliding in one by one.

Variants:

• On episodes 1924, 2164, 2203, 2230, 2404, 2544, 2749 and 2843, the real Sesame Street sign takes the place of the animated one.
• On episode 2782, which featured a parody of Wide World of Sports called Wide World of Sesame Street, the SS logo is displayed on the model globe used in the show, and the usual CTW text slides in below it as usual. On episode 2823 (and its repeat, 3047), the logo was the same but without the CTW text sliding in.
• Beginning in Season 24 in November 1992, this would not be seen on Fridays, as Sesame Street had introduced a new closing credit sequence for then.
• On episode 2929 (and its repeat, episode 3184), a big Sesame Street logo flips in at the bottom, with the CTW text appearing at the top.

FX/SFX: The flipping and sliding. Once again, pretty simple effects, but a lot better compared to the 4th logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as before synced up to the animation of the sliding words.

Music/Sounds variants: On episodes 3058 and 3093 (and their respective repeats, 3281 and 3288), there is the sound of a spring popping as the Sesame Street sign flips in, and 3 whooshing sounds as the words "Children's Television Workshop" slide in.

Availability: Extremely rare. This was first seen on episode 1915 during the 15th season and was used until the end of season 26 (with the exception of repeat episodes that aired during seasons 27 and 28). Seen at the end of older Sesame Street episodes of the era, but they're usually aren't reran anymore in favor of more recent ones. There's a fairly slim chance they'll be aired again, and this will be intact, replaced, or cut off if so. Either way, check your old tapes and DVR recordings! Strangely, the HBO prints of some Nineties episodes was followed by the full 1992 closing credits with the 10th logo.

Editor's Note: Same as the 1st logo.

7th Logo (Square One TV Custom Logo 1)
(1987-1991)

Logo: On various backgrounds, the Square One TV logo flies around the screen then immediately disappears as a copyright notice appears. A few seconds later, the Square One TV goes in random until it reaches the center of the screen. Less than a second later, the Children's Television Workshop appears zooming out plastering the Square One portion of the logo. Thus, the logo reads "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP TELEVISION."

Variants:

• For the first season only, the CTW logo text is blue on a black background. For the final two seasons of this sequence, it was changed to a purple background with white text.
• In early episodes of Square One TV, as well as Friday episodes, the logo would already begin at the copyright screen.

FX/SFX: The logo flying and going in random, and the CTW logo zooming out.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: The final eight seconds of the Square One TV theme song (from Seasons 1-3) with Cynthia Darlow saying "100% of Square One TV is a production of the Children's Television Workshop." Her announcement is followed by a kid chorus shouting "SQUARE ONE!"

Availability: Uncommon. Seen at the end of older Square One TV episodes of the era.

8th Logo (Square One TV Custom Logo 2)
(1991-1992)

Logo: On a black and white checkered background, the Square One TV logo zooms in with a copyright notice fading in. Afterwards, it immediately cuts from the CTW logo in pink, to a fully checkered board logo zooming out, revealing the Square One TV logo, turning itself to the right and facing the viewer.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: The closing bars of the Season 4-5 Square One TV theme song with Cynthia Darlow saying "100% of Square One TV is a production of the Children's Television Workshop." followed by a female chorus singing "SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE ONE!"

Availability: Uncommon. Seen at the end of older Square One TV episodes of the era.

9th Logo (Mathnet Custom Logo)
(1991-1992)

Logo: On a blue background, we see the Mathnet seal radial wiping in with it's slogan "to congitate and to solve." fading in.

Variant: Sometimes the logo just appears as a still image. It would usually fade-to the CTW logo.

FX/SFX: The wiping in, the slogan fading in.

Music/Sounds: Just Cynthia Darlow saying "100% of Mathnet is a production of the Children's Television Workshop." Sometimes, after her announcement, George Frankly would laugh.

Availability: The original version was seen on Mathnet 1-Hour Specials, and retained on VHS releases of "The Case of the Unnatural" and Despair in "Monterey Bay." The still variant with the CTW logo was seen on ACME Crime Net prints of "The Case of the Unnatural" and The Calpurnian Kugel Caper".

10th Logo (Sesame Street Custom Logo 4)
(1992-2000)

Logo: This is incorporated into the original version of the 1992-2006 Sesame Street closing credit sequence. After the credit scroll, we come across an animated version of the familiar Sesame Street sign flipping in against a cloudy sky with buildings. Big Bird (live-action) walks by and says the usual end spiel as the words "Children's Television Workshop" in white with black outlines is wiped in. 

FX/SFX: The animated sign and the live-action Big Bird walking by, all done by regular series animator Joey Ahlbum.

Music/Sounds: Same as the first three Sesame Street custom logos, but this time the theme is in its hip-hop rearrangement and the announcer is Big Bird.

Availability: Seen on several Sesame Street episodes from the time period starting with the premiere episode of Season 24 (episode 3006), mostly ones that initially aired on Fridays, though some season premieres (such as episode 3786, containing the debut of "Elmo's World") would feature this credit sequence. Some episodes from the period can be found on VHS and DVD. CTW abolished this logo around 2000 when they became Sesame Workshop.

Editor's Note: Same as the 1st logo.

11th Logo (Cro Custom Logo)
(1993-1995)

Nicknames: "The Rolling Stone", "The Cro Logo", "Prehistoric CTW"

Logo: We see two pink boulders against a blue background; one is round, while the other is in the shape of an inverted triangle. Both have cracks and niches in them. From the screen's right, we see a third pink boulder in the shape of a square rolling in. It bumps into the second boulder, and all three boulders crumble apart slightly; each one forms a letter: the first one forms "C",the second forms "T" and the third one forms "W." Copyright information fades in at the bottom of the screen.

FX/SFX: The boulders rolling and breaking. This was produced by Film Roman (who also produced Cro).

Music/Sounds: First we hear several descending trumpet notes, then the sound of the boulders crumbling, and then an ascending four-note piano jingle accompanied by a descending four-note trumpet jingle.

Availability: Only used on Cro, which is hardly ever rerun nowadays.

12th Logo (Square One TV Math Talk Custom Logo 3)
(1995-1996)

Logo: Against an animated purple BG with a white copyright notice below, and after the Square One TV Math Talk logo appears, the CTW logo from logo 4 (in white) slides in word-by-word and in the correct order, from the left, right, and left sides of the screen, respectively. This is succeeded by the funding credits.

FX/SFX: Just the letters sliding in.

Music/Sounds: The end theme to Square One TV Math Talk (an upbeat tune with horns) with Cynthia Darlow saying "Square One TV Math Talk is a production of the Children's Television Workshop.".

Availability: Uncommon; seen on tapes of Square One TV Math Talk(a spin-off of Square One TV used for instructing teachers), which is hardly, if ever, aired on TV.

13th Logo (Ghostwriter Custom Logo)
(1992-1995)

Logo: On a black BG in the center of the screen, the title character of Ghostwriter appears (in yellow) and flies across the top of the screen from left to right, wiping in the words "Ghostwriter" (in green, and in the show's font) with "is produced by" below it (in red). Then, all of a sudden, the "W" and "T" in "writer", as well as the "C" in "produced" drop out, swirl around, and form a large "CTW" in the colors you see here, shoving the rest of the words off the screen. Ghostwriter then flies across the screen from right to left, wiping in the words "in association with BBC TELEVISION" ("BBC" being displayed as its familiar logo from the time) below that.

Variant: Later episodes do not have the BBC info.

FX/SFX: The text being formed, as well as Ghostwriter himself. Pretty standard 2D effects.

Music/Sounds: A funky bass/synth guitar tune, as well as scribbling sounds as the words are being formed. Someone probably says "Ghostwriter is a production of the Children's Television Workshop.".

Availability: Seen at the end of the BBC television show Ghostwriter on select PBS stations. Perhaps retained on the DVD.

14th Logo (Sesame Street Custom Logo 5)
(1995-2003)

Nickname: "Toodle-loo!", "The Curtain/Purple Static"

Logo: This was merely a copyright screen for Sesame Street. From 1995 to 1998, the screen was displayed on a teal/blue background with alternating diagonal lines. From 1998 to 2002, it was displayed on a purple static background. The description is like this:

"Sesame Street"
and the "Sesame Street"
sign are trademarks and
service marks of Children's Television Workshop ©(year) Children's Television Workshop.
Sesame Street Muppets©(year)
The Jim Henson Company. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

After a few seconds, the copyright screen moves away to the left, revealing Big Bird, who's seen from the head up. He tells the audience, "toodle-loo!"

FX/SFX: The static or the lines moving away (depending on which background was used), the moving text to make way for Big Bird.

Variant:

• While CTW renamed itself to Sesame Workshop in 2000, they continued to use this logo until 2003. To reflect the name change, "Sesame" replaced "Children's Television." The copyright info also replaced all mentions of CTW with the SW name.
• Beginning around 2002, the entirety of the text changed to a bold Arial-type font. The letters of the "Sesame Workshop" text are also spaced out.
• It's worth mentioning that also around 2002, the copyright info was rid of any mentions of The Jim Henson Company, the "Sesame Street Muppets" text had the SW name added to it, and as a result of the removal of the Jim Henson name, the "ALL RIGHTS RESERVED" text is all on the same line (instead of taking up 2).

Music/Sounds:

• 1995-1999: A bombastic version of the Sesame Street theme, which ends in a jolly keyboard/bass vamp. This carries over into the underwriting spiel.
• 1999-2001: A soft keyboard/bass version of the theme.
• 2001-2003: A bluesy version of the theme played by a muted trumpet ensemble.

Availability: Uncommon. It's intact on HBO airings of Sesame Street episodes from the era.

Editor's Note: Same as the 1st logo.

15th Logo (1997-2000)

Nicknames: "The Bouncing Letters", "Play it Smart", "The Sailors' Hornpipe Logo", "The CTW Semicircle"

Logo: On a shady cyan background, we see a yellow semi-circle (the same one from the Sesame Street logo) turned on its bottom side with the red letters "C", "T", and "W" positioned from left to right. The "C" bounces on the semicircle, making it slant to the left. Then the "T" twists in a slight angle around while the "W" bounces. The semicircle rebounds to its original position, then the three letters bounce together, pushing the semicircle to the ground. The semicircle bounces up and rotates a few times before settling into a position halfway up the screen. The text "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" comes from underneath the semicircle in yellow. The three letters flip in the air and land on the face of the semicircle. The sign bounces once more as the text "PLAY IT SMART" appears below in black.

Variants:

• There was an early version of this logo without "PLAY IT SMART". Also, the shadow still appears behind "CTW" after the logo forms.
• A still version of this logo was seen on Nintendo 64 versions of Elmo's Letter Adventure and Elmo's Number Journey.
• On 1998/1999 episodes of Plaza Sésamo, a picture of the logo flies around with the Televisa logo.
• On Zhima Jie episodes of the era, there is an in-credit version (with no semicircle) with what is presumably a Chinese-translated version of the Sesame Street in-credit version. Below the show's name, "(CTW)" is among Chinese text, and as the credits scroll down, another "CTW" is shown after more Chinese text and the copyright date.
• At the end of the 1999 Noggin special Sesame Street: Unpaved, the Sesame Street logo of the time appears on a white background with "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in black underneath.
• A variant exists with "Play it smart" placed on the bottom of the screen. This was spotted on a demo reel from Pittard Sullivan. It's currently unknown if this was ever used on any programs.
• On the original pilot of Tiny Planets, the logo appears in credit on a white background, with the text in red. The logo appears to the right of the Pepper's Ghost logo.

FX/SFX: Very nice CGI from Pittard Sullivan!

Music/Sounds: A horn and a trumpet playing a tune that starts out similar to "Sailor's Hornpipe", accompanied by bouncing sound effects (probably a sound from the Hollywood Edge Premiere Edition).

Music/Sounds Variant: On Sesame Street: Unpaved, it's silent.

Availability: Extremely rare; though this logo was sort of common in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it has since become increasingly rare and hard to find. It was seen on Seasons 29-31 (1997-2000) episodes of Sesame Street (later airings of these Sesame Street episodes have this plastered over with the "House Of Boredom"), later Big Bag episodes, and a few episodes of Dragon Tales (most episodes have the 1st Sesame Workshop logo instead). On VHS, the early version made its first appearance on Fiesta, and Kids Guide to Life: Big Bird Gets Lost, (both released on February 3, 1998) and can be found on most other VHS releases from 1998-2000, like Elmopalooza, The Great Numbers Game, The Alphabet Jungle Game, Cinderelmo (all of the DVD releases also have the logo intact), the 1999 VHS of Kids Favorite Songs, and the original printings of the first 2 Elmo's World VHS releases from 2000. As for the PLAY IT SMART version, it appears on the 1998 VHS of The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street, the 1999 VHS of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Sing and Play, the games Elmo's Letter Adventure and Elmo's Number Journey for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, and the DVD release of Dragon Tales: Adventures in Dragon Land (along with the first 6 Dragon Tales VHS releases). The Zhima Jie in-credit variant is extinct to the point of nearing lost status, as there is only one surviving clip (albeit in potato cam) of the co-production on YouTube that happens to have the closing credits (which means that a possible Sesame Workshop in-credit variant is completely lost). The Sesame Street: Unpaved variant is extremely rare and only appears on the 1999 special of the same name that aired on Noggin (now Nick Jr.) which will probably never air on TV again, but can be found online. Despite CTW becoming Sesame Workshop in June 2000, this logo is still used on reruns of Sesame Street as late as September 2000, as late as October 2000 on Dragon Tales, and as late as March 2001 on a few Dragon Tales VHS releases like Dragon Tales: Let's Play Together, and Dragon Tales: Keep on Trying. Apparently, earlier Sony Wonder DVD copies of Kids Favorite Songs, and Kids Favorite Songs 2 surprisingly feature this logo before the DVD menu, while later Sony Wonder DVD copies feature the Sesame Workshop logo

Editor's Note: Compared to the 3rd and 4th logos, this is a breath of fresh air with great CGI and music.

16th Logo (The Adventures in Elmo in Grouchland Custom Logo)
(October 1, 1999)

Nicknames: "CTW Car", "The CTW Semicircle II"

Logo: On a light-blue background, we see the Children's Television Workshop semicircle from the previous logo on some wheels and then it stops. A door comes out of the logo and a bunch of letters come out of the semicircle, and form the words "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP". As we zoom out, the semicircle leaves and the letters get pushed up to form the logo as the semicircle re-appears.

FX/SFX: 2D animation produced by The Ink Tank in New York.

Music/Sounds: A bouncy piano tune, and a crowd of adults talking when the letters get off.

Availability: Rare; appeared at the end of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

Sesame Workshop

1st Logo
(June 5, 2000-August 2007)

Nicknames: "House of Boredom", "The Sesame Workshop House"

Logo: On a white background, we see an abstract green house with a purple roof and the text:

sesame workshop

outlined below. The window of the house is filled with yellow glitter. The house bounces and the roof explodes open to the right, sending the glitter sprinkling all over. Some of the glitter remains and causes itself to form a lightning bolt crowned with a star, some sprinkles cause themselves to fill the "sesame" text with purple, and some sprinkles to the right to fill the "workshop" text with green, rendering it like this: 

sesameworkshop

Variants: Here are the nine variants of this logo:

• Green house and purple roof (most common variant; it replaces the CTW logo shown on 1999 episodes of Dragon Tales. This is the variant used in the Around the World promos.
• Purple house and red roof (second common variant; it usually plasters older CTW logos). This one is the first to contain the byline as described below.
• Blue house and green roof (seen on Plaza Sésamo and perhaps other foreign-language co-productions of Sesame Street).
• A prototype, still version with the blue house and green roof can be found on volumes 3 (Singing Drawing & More) and 4 (Flowers Bananas & More) of Elmo's World, along with earlier VHS releases of Let's Make Music, and the 2001 VHS of Elmo's Musical Adventure: The Story of Peter and the Wolf.
• Red house and blue roof (seen on Sesame Street Sports for the PlayStation and later episodes of The Upside Down Show).
• Green house and green roof (seen on Shara'a Simsim and Alam Simsim).
• Purple house and green roof (seen on CTW/Noggin co-productions such as Upside Down Show).
• The text "The nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street and so much more" (in the same color as the house) is shown below on occasion.
• On some occasions. the www.sesameworkshop.org URL can be seen underneath the sesameworkshop text.
• Another variant has been discovered using the purple house and red roof, and features a byline reading "A nonprofit educational organization" underneath the 'sesameworkshop' text, and the sesameworkshop.org URL can be seen underneath.
• One user on this site recalls seeing a variant of this logo on Play With Me Sesame where the logo zooms in from the top, to the center of the screen (a la the 2nd DLT logo). In this case, the house and 'sesameworkshop' text was purple and the roof was red and was already opened. It's unknown at this time if this variant actually exists.
• Some have a copyright date.
• There is an extended variant that is practically the url and the "nonprofit organization" variants combined into one, where it fades in between the bylines (from the nonprofit one to the url one).

In-Credit Variants: 

• On 2000-2002 episodes of Sesame Street, the 1998-2000 in-credit variant of the CTW logo was now modified to read "Sesame Workshop" (without the house of boredom). The music was also modified again in 2001, while everything else remained the same and in 2001, the text was modified.
• On Dragon Tales, the Sesame Street in-credit variant of the CTW logo from 1999 was displayed during the end of the ending credit sequence and now modified to read "Sesame Workshop".
• On 2003-2006 Sesame Street episodes, the in-credit variant from 2000 was displayed during the end of the 1992-2006 ending credit sequence. In 2004, the text was modified.
• On 2007 Sesame Street episodes, another in-credit variant of the logo, without a house of boredom and used which consisted of the "a production of sesameworkshop" and the "The non-profit organization..." byline as well, all in green text on a black background. This was eventually replaced with the second logo in the next season. This also appears on the new series of The Electric Company (without the byline).
• A 2000 superimposed variant can be found at the end of Sesame English.
• Plaza Sésamo Variant: On episodes of Plaza Sésamo from 2000, a picture of the logo flies around with the 1973-2000 version of the Televisa logo.

FX/SFX: The sparkles and house forming. The logo was designed by Carbone Smolan; animation was by The Ink Tank.

Music/Sounds: A tuba and stretching noise that played at the start. A pop sound is heard when the house bounces and the roof explodes and a child giggling, and then a tuba and bass clarinet playing a short tune together, with an accordion note at the end. In some cases, it uses the end theme of a show.

Music/Sounds/Variants:

• On 2003 episodes of Sesame Street, twinkling sounds are added over the logo's music, and the tuba note is cut off.
• The still variant with the blue house and green roof uses 6 ascending synthesized piano notes, followed by descending tuba notes
• The Around the World promo has Whoopi Goldberg talking about Sesame Workshop in different countries, and a lively electric bass tune with drums and an oboe. This variant was used starting in 2004, with What's the Name of that Song?.

Availability: Very common. The still version of this logo was first seen on the VHS release of Sesame Street: Let's Make Music, released on July 18, 2000 (despite using the CTW semicircle logo on the back cover and tape label despite the name being changed in June 2000), however, at the same time, although CTW changed the name to Sesame Workshop, the 1997 Children's Television Workshop logo was still shown on PBS reruns of Sesame Street until October 2000, when the fully animated purple roof and green house variant of this logo finally replaced it, according to a video uploaded by SchfiftyThree628, and since then, it was pretty much on every show PBS and Sesame Workshop distribute together, with the exception of 2007 (Season 38) episodes of Sesame Street (instead using a different customized Sesame Workshop logo with black background without the house) although this logo appeared on 2001-2006 (Seasons 32-37) episodes of said show, along with PBS reruns of season 31 beginning in October 2000. Also, when shown on 2000-2005 episodes Dragon Tales, this logo would appear before Columbia Tristar''s Boxes (or Sony's Bars) of Boredom and it does/did in 2002-2005! Also, when shown on Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat, this logo would appear after the Cinegroupe logo. It was also shown on re runs of Season 1 episodes of Dragon Tales, along with Season 2 and Season 3 episodes of said show. It can also be found on most Dragon Tales DVDs and VHS tapes, except for Dragon Tales Adventures in Dragon Land (that DVD used the CTW semi-circle logo instead, however the front, back, and disc cover had this logo).

Editor's Note: It's cute, but it may be considered annoying due to its omnipresence, though its presence was significantly toned down in recent years.

2nd Logo (August 13, 2007-April 4, 2011)

Nickname: "The Abby Cadabby Logo"

Logo:

• On Season 38 of Sesame Street, we see Abby Cadabby fly by as she forms the phrase "a production of sesameworkshop" and the "The non-profit organization..." byline (all in green text) with her magical wand. Abby disappears and the background fades to black.
• On the 2009 revival of The Electric Company, the logo appears below the epilogue of the preceding episode (both of which are in-credit).

FX/SFX: The animation of the "sesameworkshop" text for the first variant; the logo fading in for the second variant.

Music/Sounds:

• Sesame Street (Season 38): The closing theme of the show, which is an instrumental R&B remix of the Sesame Street theme song, accompanied by Abby's magic twinkling sounds.
• The Electric Company (2009): The dialogue heard in the clip above the logo.

Availability: Rare. Seen on Season 38 of Sesame Street and the 2009 revival of The Electric Company. Like with the previous logos, check your recordings.

3rd Logo
(2008-July 14, 2018)

Nicknames: "Sesame Workshop All-Stars," "The Elmo Logo," "Uh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!," "Elmo's LOL"

Logo: On a yellow background, the green "sesame" text is seen, arranged like this:

sesame

Next to it, various stills of CTW/Sesame Workshop characters appear one-by-one next to the logo, including characters from CTW/Sesame Workshop co-productions outside of the U.S.. Characters include, from left to right:

• Cookie Monster (replaced by Elmo in the Shara'a Simsim variant)
• Chamki (from Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian co-production of SS)
• A clay-mation Bert (from Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures)
• Big Bird
• A clay-mation Ernie (also from Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures)
• Abelardo Montoya (from Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican co-production of SS)
• Kami reading a book (from Takalani Sesame, the South-African co-production of SS)
• Pinky (from Pinky Dinky Doo)

sesameworkshop 

A still of Elmo fades in reclining on the O, and we hear Elmo's distinctive laughter. Variant: Sesame Tree, Northern Ireland's co-production of Sesame Street, uses a special still variant that shows the Sixteen South logo and SW logos at the top with "Produced in association with BBC Northern Ireland" below it, along with a copyright date.

Variants:

• Sesame Tree, Northern Ireland's co-production of Sesame Street, uses a special still variant that shows the Sixteen South logo and SW logos at the top with "Produced in association with BBC Northern Ireland" below it, along with a copyright date.
• Shara'a Simsim, Palestine's co-production of Sesame Street, uses a variant with Grover in place of Elmo.
• There is also a variant with nothing below.
• Widescreen DVDs from the company use a widescreen version cropped with vert- field of view.

FX/SFX: The characters appearing and changing into the text, Elmo fading in.

Music/Sounds: The standard audio is a tuba and bass clarinet both playing a tune (the first 4 notes sounding very similar to Cruella DeVille's song from 101 Dalmatians) with synthesized tambourine/drum beats, and additional accordions playing as well, followed by Elmo's distinctive laugh when he fades in (the laugh is replaced with a deep boing on the Grover variant). On 2008-2015 Sesame Street episodes, the ending of the then-current Sesame Street closing theme is heard, with Elmo's laugh heard at the end. The Sesame Tree variant uses the end theme of the show.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• On 2008-present Sesame Street episodes, the ending of the then-current Sesame Street closing theme is heard, with Elmo's laugh heard at the end.
• The Sesame Tree variant uses the end theme of the show.

Availability: Current; seen on episodes of Sesame Street, starting with Season 39 (2008). It also can be seen on later episodes of Pinky Dinky Doo and Plaza Sésamo. The Grover variant is only seen on Shara'a Simsim. DVDs such as Learning Letters With Elmo, Elmo's Rainbow and Other Springtime Stories, Elmo's Alphabet Challenge, The Cookie Thief, Elmo's Super Numbers and Learning Rocks also have this logo intact.

Editor's Note: Another cute one, but at least it's not known for plastering like the previous logo. Of course, those with a strong distaste for Elmo may be put off by it.

4th Logo (August 18th, 2018-present)

Nickname: "The Iconic Sesame Street Sign Element"

Logo: On a white background, the yellow outline represents the top of the iconic sesame Street sign & and its border. At the bottom, the green outline represent the bottom of the sign and the green filling for the white text. Sandwiched together are the black words, stacked together, in a new font.

Variant: On Sesame Street since 2021, there has been a new animation for Sesame Street. On a white background, we see the 3D Sesame Street sign come in and then we pan up to see the Sesame Workshop logo animating.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A 3-note xylophone tune that has the same rhythm, but not the same pitch, as the first 3 notes of the Sesame Street theme. Otherwise, it's the end theme of the show.

Availability: Current. The logo appeared on a Variety news article on June 20, 2018. Its first on-screen appearance was on Esme & Roy. It also appeared on season 49 of Sesame Street and has been spotted plastering older logos on older episodes.

Editor's Note: Another logo within the modern trend of "simplicity", and as a result, it's VERY generic. Also, the two lines on the top and bottom give it a suspicious resemblance to the Cookie Jar logo. Some may appreciate the simplicity and the resemblance to the Sesame Street sign, however.

5th Logo (June 21, 2022-)

Nickname: "Sesame Street's Cookie Jar II"

Logo: On a black background, two gold-green gradient colored lines are drawn from opposite sides, slowing down in the middle before speeding up again. As they speed off, the "SESAME WORKSHOP" text from before in gold fades in while the screen zooms up closer. When it stops, the background color changes to a gray-white gradient and the text becomes gray, and the lines, which turn yellow and green, slightly move away from the text before bouncing back to their normal positions. As this all happens, a copyright notice (in VAG Rounded) pops in.

FX/SFX: The lines drawing, the text fading in, and the background changing colors.

Music/Sounds: A reverse reverb followed by two notes and then a ding.

Availability: Current. It debuted on Welcome Sesame: A Digital Special Event. Used in tandem with the previous logo.