| Category | Comprehensive Details |
| Episode Title | What Happens Next? |
| Season Number | 36 |
| Episode Number | 4100 |
| Air Date | June 20, 2005 |
| Writer | Molly Boylan |
| Director | Ken Diego |
| Scientific Goal | Forming a Hypothesis and Making Predictions |
| Primary Muppets | Elmo, Oscar the Grouch, Slimey, Grundgetta, Elephant |
| Human Cast | Alan, Maria, Luis, Gordon |
| Celebrity Guest | India.Arie |
| Musical Performance | Alphabet Song with India.Arie and Elmo |
| Letter of the Day | R |
| Number of the Day | 10 |
| Spanish Word of the Day | Counting to 10 (Diez) |
| Spanish Segment | Rosita sings the Conga Counting Song |
| Healthy Moment | Grover explains the health benefits of jumping |
| First Experiment | Slimey jumping into a pool of mud |
| Second Experiment | Air movement using electric fans |
| Third Experiment | Obstacle navigation for worms and elephants |
| Game Show Theme | It has science, music, and worms |
| Game Show Prize 1 | A bucket of mud |
| Game Show Prize 2 | The air in the yard |
| Global Grover Location | Global trip about bathing |
| Global Grover Song | This is How We Take a Bath performed by Kevin Clash |
| Global Grover Animal | Stevie the Elephant helps Grover clean up |
| Trash Gordon Chapter | 269 |
| Trash Gordon Conflict | Handling the Giant Cranky Monster Baby |
| Trash Gordon Solution | Providing a giant bottle to the monster |
| Educational Lesson | Physics and the movement of air and objects |
| Ending Sequence | Elmo plays leapfrog with a large elephant friend |
| Jane Tuesday Segment | Eating red raspberries for color health |
| Number Segment | Ten butterflies and Tennessee number ten cartoon |
| Ernie and Bert | Bert plays a pattern game with paper clips |
| Archival Segment | Joe Raposo sings Everybody Sleeps |
| Production Company | Sesame Workshop |
| Studio | Kaufman Astoria Studios |
Facts
A Vintage India.Arie Performance
Singer India.Arie performs the alphabet song with Elmo. The production team filmed this celebrity segment almost five years before this broadcast during the thirty-second season in 2001. The editing department often keeps finished celebrity segments for years before finding the right place in an episode. You can see how they've used famous guests to make sure there's always a lot of star power across the different seasons.
The Original Voice of Splasho
The broadcast includes an animated bit featuring a character called the Magnificent Splasho. Jim Henson originally recorded the voice of this animated circus performer back in the first season of 1969. The editing team kept Henson's original 36-year-old voice acting but added new sound effects to make it more modern, keeping the founder's comedic legacy in the new version.
Joey Mazzarino created the game show
Joey Mazzarino came up with the idea for the "What Happens Next?" game show himself. He designed the segment to teach the scientific method (hypothesis, observation, conclusion) to preschoolers without using overly academic language. Mazzarino often encouraged the writers' room to use traditional TV tropes, like chaotic game shows, to deliver complex learning goals.
The Physics of the Peanut Wall
The script called for a massive elephant to smash through a brick wall to get to a bowl of peanuts. The props department made a special breakaway wall using lightweight foam bricks that were painted to look like masonry. The builders made the wall collapse outwards safely if it was hit, so that the heavy elephant puppet costume and the performers around it would not get hurt during the crazy stunt.
Recycling the Shpritzer Honker
The episode features a musical instrument called the "Shpritzer Honker Splasher Sprinkler Tweeter Squirt." The workshop builders originally made this complex water-spraying prop for a completely different sketch in 1995. The art department often salvages expensive, custom-built mechanical props from storage and re-integrates them into new musical numbers to make the most of the original budget.
The Elephant Shower Rig
Grover tries to have a bath, but the tap doesn't work. There's an elephant called Stevie who uses his trunk like a shower head. The special effects team rigged up a hidden water tube that went right through the inside of the elephant puppet's arm. A crew member off-camera manually pumped pressurised water through the tube during filming, creating a practical on-set water effect without relying on expensive computer graphics added in later.
Joe Raposo's Vocal Legacy
The broadcast features the song "Everybody Sleeps." The legendary late composer Joe Raposo does the main singing for this gentle lullaby. Raposo was the programme's musical director in its early years and wrote its most famous anthems. The producers decided to re-air his classic vocals over new visuals, so that his unique musical voice can be heard by a new generation of viewers, long after he died.
Educational Context and Viewer Guide
Primary Lesson: Physics, making scientific predictions and cause and effect.
Pedagogical goal: introduce the idea of coming up with hypotheses based on physical variables like height, wind force, and mass.
Parent's Note: Oscar hosts a game show. He challenges Elmo to predict the outcome of different physical scenarios. Slimey the Worm jumps from a high diving board. Elmo finds out that height makes the splash bigger. Grundgetta uses a little fan to push Slimey on a skateboard. Then she uses a big fan to blow the mailroom away. Slimey scales a wall to get to an apple. An elephant goes through a wall to get to some peanuts. You can play this prediction game at home with your child. Imagine you drop a small stone and a large rock into a puddle. Ask your child to guess which splash will be bigger. You point a fan at a feather and a book. Ask your child to predict which object will move. This activity will help them get to grips with physics.
Expert observation: This episode looks at how to come up with hypotheses by playing around with variables. The characters do controlled experiments. They change one thing at a time to see what happens. Slimey gets on the diving board to build momentum. Grundgetta makes the fan bigger to increase the wind force. The elephant shows how mass and force can get past physical barriers. These segments make abstract physical concepts seem more concrete. The "What Happens Next" framework uses the scientific method to predict, test and observe results. The pattern bit with Ernie and Bert shows how to do things in a logical order. You can encourage logical thinking by getting your child to say what they think will happen next when you're reading a storybook or doing the daily routine. This simple question will really help them to improve their predictive reasoning skills.
Analyzing patterns and predicting outcomes
Ernie and Bert play a game using paper clips and bottle caps to create a sequence. Bert asks Ernie to have a guess about what's coming up next, based on the usual pattern. There's a cartoon that shows a pattern of babies and dogs, and it asks the viewer to identify the next image. You encourage your child to spot patterns in everyday life. Just use the coloured blocks to build a simple sequence, alternating between red and blue. Ask your child to choose the next block. Predicting outcomes helps kids to build early maths skills and logical thinking.
Developing hypotheses through observation
Oscar hosts a game show called "What Happens Next?" He asks Elmo to guess what will happen in different situations. Elmo reckons Slimey the worm will only make a small splash because he is little. Then Elmo suggests that a little fan will blow air and move a skateboard. When a large fan is switched on, Elmo guesses it will move something big. You're helping your child develop hypotheses through everyday activities. Ask them what they think will happen if you leave an ice cube in the sun. Then discuss the results together. This gets you thinking scientifically and encourages you to think for yourself.
Learning about animal adaptations
Elmo watches Slimey face a small wall blocking his path to an apple. Elmo realises that a worm can climb over the wall to reach the food. Then, an elephant comes up against a much bigger wall, and can't get to a bowl of peanuts. The elephant, who can't wait, charges straight through the barrier. Different animals use different strategies to solve problems based on their physical abilities. You can chat with your child about how animals adapt to their environments. Take a look at some pictures of animals and chat about how their bodies help them find food or build shelters. This helps you to understand biology and the natural world.
We all need to take a break sometimes.
Big Bird plays tag with Elmo, but eventually he gets tired. He wants to stop and rest, but Elmo wants to keep going. Big Bird sings a song to explain that resting is important after physical activity. They watch other characters playing while they take a break to recover their energy. Make sure your child takes breaks during active play. After running or jumping, give them some quiet time to recover. Have a chat about how getting some rest helps them feel strong and ready for the next activity. Doing a bit of exercise and then resting makes sure you're fit and well.
Jump to stay healthy
Grover says jumping is a great way to get the body moving and build strength. Elmo looks into jumping in his segment, getting to grips with how it works and having fun with it. Jumping is a great way to boost your heart rate and keep your cardiovascular health on track. You can get your child used to jumping in safe areas, like on grass or a soft mat. Try out some games that involve hopping on one foot or jumping over little obstacles to improve coordination and balance.
