Guess That Shape and Color

Segment Category	Source / Episode	Feature Highlights	Educational Focus
Framing Story	New Content (2006)	Mr. Can You Guess challenges Elmo and Zoe to solve riddles.	Predictive Thinking
The Square Game	Episode 4065	Elmo and Zoe hunt for squares throughout Sesame Street.	Geometry (Squares)
Healthy Food Game	Episode 4085	A fast-paced game show challenging monsters to find colorful snacks.	Nutrition & Vocabulary
Telly Tut	Episode 3823	Telly Monster assumes an Egyptian persona to dance in "triangular" ways.	Shapes in Motion
MoMA Visit	Episode 3569	Baby Bear and Papa Bear analyze Mondrian’s abstract geometric art.	Art History & Shapes
It’s Hip to Be Square	Episode 2615	A classic parody of Huey Lewis, celebrating the four-sided shape.	Music & Geometry
Jane Tuesday	Episode 4089	Detective Jane Tuesday investigates "Orange" foods (carrots/oranges).	Logic & Healthy Eating
The Pepper Dance	Episode 3079	Animated bell peppers perform a rhythmic dance of red, green, and yellow.	Colors & Rhythm
Watermelon Song	Episode 4088	A musical ode to the pink and green fruit.	Botany & Nutrition
The Stop Sign Tour	Episode 3465	A real-world film tour of various octagonal STOP signs.	Real-world Geometry

Facts

Guess That Shape and Color first came out in 2006 as a direct-to-video compilation. It mixed street stories from Seasons 35 and 36 with new framing material. They created a new character, Mr. Can You Guess, to lead the transitions between segments. This character used a game show format to connect lessons about geometry with those about nutrition.

Baby Bear and Papa Bear stopped by the Museum of Modern Art in a recurring segment. They looked at a painting by Piet Mondrian to find rectangles and squares. They got special permission from the museum to film on location among authentic abstract art. This part used red, blue, and yellow to match the geometric style of the De Stijl movement.

Jane Tuesday was in the film Eat Your Colors, where she looked into the color orange. The character is a parody of 1940s film noir detectives. She used a magnifying glass prop to check out different fruits and vegetables. The background was done in muted colors, but the orange food items were really bright. This visual technique makes the target color pop by using color grading.

The Telly Tut segment had Telly Monster dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh. The costume department made a custom headdress and collar with geometric patterns. The music used a synthesized Middle Eastern scale to parody the 1970s hit song "King Tut" by Steve Martin. This segment linked the history of ancient architecture with the identification of triangles and squares.

The bonus feature Grow High Grow Low used time lapse photography to show the life cycle of plants. This footage was originally filmed for Season 19 in the late 1980s. The editors digitally cleaned the film grain to match the higher resolution of the 2006 DVD release. This segment shows the vertical growth of plants in a garden.

The DVD had a clip called "It's Hip To Be a Square." This animation used a 1980s pop rock style to teach about four-sided geometry. The song is a parody of the Huey Lewis and the News hit of the same name. Animators used bold black outlines and bright neon fills to make the shapes stand out against the background.

Cookie Monster was on a healthy food game show segment from Episode 4085. They used a "rainbow of food" backdrop to represent different nutritional groups. This was part of the Healthy Habits for Life initiative. The segment used a physical spin wheel prop that landed on different colored vegetables to determine the next challenge for the contestants.

Parent's Guide

Elmo and Zoe find a bunch of different food options in the Healthy Food Game Show. This narrative teaches your child the concept of eating your colors. The monsters are on the lookout for orange carrots, green broccoli, and red peppers. This model shows how people find information and organize it. Preschoolers learn that a diverse and colorful plate is healthy. And the connection between visual recognition and nutritional literacy is pretty clear. The I Eat the Colors of the Rainbow cartoon really drives this home. Your child will learn to turn every meal into a game of health and wellness.

Baby Bear and Papa Bear stop by the Museum of Modern Art to check out a Piet Mondrian painting. This segment is all about geometry and appreciating art. Your child will see how complex images are built from simple shapes. The story gets you thinking about space. Kids learn to break down what they see into basic shapes. Exposing kids to fine art in the real world helps them develop early.

Elmo and Zoe are practicing shape recognition in the Square Game. They look for things that are four sides. This high-energy segment is designed to help students develop mathematical fluency. Your child learns that math is all around them, in windows and signs and everywhere.

There are also some bonus features, like a close-up look at the circle and the octagon. Ernie explores circles while a film shows octagonal stop signs in various locations. Kids develop visual literacy through these shapes. Learning that a stop sign is shaped like an octagon can help you stay safe and aware of your surroundings. Your child starts to connect geometric shapes with real-world instructions. This repetition is key for getting ready to read. It teaches you to notice the little differences in symbols and letters.

Jane Tuesday is on the case of orange foods. This parody of detective stories is a great tool for problem solving and observation. Jane finds some crunchy orange snacks. Viewers use deductive reasoning to identify healthy options. Nutrition education becomes a mystery to keep young learners engaged. Your child learns the connection between certain colors and the vitamins in fruits and vegetables.

The Peppers Dance and Watermelon Song are great examples of using music to celebrate natural foods. These musical numbers are key for developing phonetic awareness. They use rhyming and alliteration to describe food attributes like pickled peppers. Animating these items makes eating vegetables feel like a celebration. This helps with social and emotional learning by creating a positive connection to healthy habits. These segments help your child identify the shapes and colors of food on the dinner table. This approach sets a solid foundation for both math and health.

Summary

Elmo and Zoe are at the forefront of the Guess That Shape and Color special. Of course, other Sesame Street characters are also featured in the video.

The segments in Special are as follows:

Elmo and Zoe play the Square Game is the street story of Sesame Street Episode 4065. The video is from the 35th season. Elmo and Zoe start playing a game at Mr Square's suggestion. The game is all about finding the squares.

Telly Tut performed by Telly Monster. This was first performed in Sesame Street episode 3823. Telly Monster emphasizes the pharaoh's love for triangles in the song in Guess That Shape and Color.

It's Hip To Be a Square is an animated song performed by Square. The song was first aired on Episode 2615.

Papa Bear and Baby Bear are in the museum. There they examine a painting full of different shapes. This was first aired in Sesame Street Episode 3569 as a muppets segment.

Jane Tuesday eats color, a film that premiered in Sesame Street Episode 4089. In the movie, she's eating an orange.

The Watermelon song is a cartoon that first aired on Sesame Street Episode 4088. Healthy eating is emphasized in the song.

Peppers dance is an animation that first aired on Sesame Street Episode 3079.

Healthy Food Game Show is the street story of Sesame Street Episode 4085. Elmo and Zoe play a game organized by Mr. Healthy Food.

The DVD also contains some bonus segments.

You can watch Sesame Street Guess That Shape and Color video on our website.