| Category | Details |
| Episode Number | 4602 |
| Season | Season 46 (2016) |
| Air Date | January 16, 2016 (HBO) / September 14, 2016 (PBS) |
| Guest Star | Alan Cumming as Mucko Polo |
| The Expedition Team | Mucko Polo, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Oscar the Grouch |
| Sense: Taste | Pepper-flavored "smiley" cookies at Hooper's Store |
| Sense: Smell | A skunk in the community garden (sprays Chris) |
| Sense: Hearing | Malfunctioning washing machine at the laundromat |
| Sense: Sight | Marine life exploration near Australia (Film) |
| Sense: Touch | Exploring the texture and "snap" of a cookie (Cold Open) |
| Key Muppets | Cookie Monster, Elmo, Oscar, Abby, Grover, Count von Count, Rosita |
| Human Cast | Alan, Chris, Nina |
| Letter of the Day | E (for Explore) |
| Number of the Day | 6 |
| Musical Segment | Elmo the Musical: Guacamole |
| Sponsors | E, 6 |
Facts
Alan Cumming's guest appearance is a direct parody of 13th-century explorer Marco Polo.
The character Mucko Polo uses the same "call and response" namesake as the famous swimming pool game, but with a Grouch twist where his backup singers shout "Polo!" every time he says his own name.
The "Stinky Stickers" were a sort of tactile reward system designed for Grouches.
So, unlike the gold stars used in Teacher Telly's school, these rewards are valued specifically for their stench. It's a way of showing the kids that different characters can have completely opposite values and preferences.
So, Alan accidentally creates some 'Pepper Cookies' at Hooper's Store.
In a rare moment of culinary failure for the shop owner, Alan uses pepper instead of a sweet ingredient, which serves as the "yucky" sensory discovery that allows the explorers to find Grouchiness in a normally happy place.
The "Polo! Posse" is made up of two specific, recurring background Grouches.
These Muppets don't often get such a big, important role, and the timing had to be spot on with Alan Cumming's lines to make sure the "Marco Polo" joke worked every time.
Chris gets sprayed by a skunk in the community garden.
This bit used a physical comedy trope – the stinky skunk – to teach kids about the sense of smell, resulting in Chris having to leave the scene immediately to take a "tomato juice bath", a classic real-world remedy for skunk spray.
The Washing Machine malfunction is a rare moment of Grover messing up.
Grover's got a lot of jobs, but he couldn't fix the machine at the laundromat, and that ended up shredding "Mrs. Crustworthy's" favourite dress. Even on Sesame Street, technology can be a pain and make you feel grumpy.
The "Nacho Picchu" bit is a clever play on words based on a World Heritage site.
In Elmo the Musical, Elmo visits a chip-themed version of Peru's Machu Picchu, which lets the show introduce global geography concepts through the lens of snack foods.
"E is for Explore" was a custom audio "patch" for the season.
Just like last time, the "Letter of the Day" song was used again from Episode 4517, but we added new audio at the end to make sure the letter "E" fit in with the "exploration" theme of the HBO premiere week.
The "Great Pyramid of Squeeza" bit was a rare Jungle-themed exploration.
This filmed bit (First: Episode 4526) shows Grover and Elmo in explorer gear, which is a nice visual contrast to the urban setting of Sesame Street and really drives home the "senses" curriculum by getting them out and about exploring.
Cookie Monster's "Art of Cookie Eating" is a great way to learn about mindfulness.
By showing the viewer how to use all five senses to enjoy a cookie, the show was actually teaching early childhood "mindful eating" habits, but it was all done as a comedy sketch.
Parent's Guide
Elmo and his friends celebrate the letter E with a lively song and dance. They say that E stands for explore. This helps you to recognise sounds for the first time. Kids get better at linking a certain character with a physical action. Try using this theme to help your child connect letters to the world around them.
Mucko Polo leads Elmo and Abby on an expedition to find grouchiness using their senses. Oscar joins the group, even though he's not that keen. Elmo uses his sense of taste to find a yucky pepper cookie at Hooper's Store. They use smell in the garden to find a stinky skunk. Oscar uses his hearing to spot a broken washing machine at the laundromat. Each discovery earns a stinky sticker. This lesson is all about sensory awareness and observation. It teaches kids to use their senses to gather information. The episode encourages kids to be curious even when things are not perfect.
Grover and Elmo go on a jungle expedition to find a pyramid. They chat about the structure's shape and features as they go. This brings in three-dimensional geometric shapes. Kids learn to see a pyramid as a solid object with a base and faces. Use this to help your child develop spatial reasoning skills. It's a key skill to be able to spot complex shapes in the real world.
Count von Count and his friends stomp and sing to find the number 6. There's a film that shows kids finding a hidden 6 buried in a pile of rocks. This helps you to identify numbers more easily. Mixing physical action with a visual search helps kids understand the value of the number. This method supports multiple learning styles.
People are on the lookout for something new throughout the episode. Mucko Polo is leading a group, while a film is being shown of marine life near a shipwreck. This gets kids interested in science and the whole process of how we find things out. You can explore a store or a garden by asking questions and looking closely. Just a heads-up: you can let your child explore anywhere.
Chef Explorer Elmo travels to Nacho Picchu in a musical. He makes a massive guacamole dip for a queen. He's got the right ingredients to save the day. This is where we start talking about sequencing and healthy food. Kids see the process of combining ingredients to make a snack. The play on words gets people interested in different parts of the world.
Muppets: Elmo and his friends introduce the letter of the day, E.
Film: A female diver discovers a sunken ship.
Muppets: The Count and his friends present the number of the day: 6.
Film: Children find the number 6 made of rocks.
