Viewers of "Sesame Street" will take visual field trips this season aswell. They'll see mask-making in Spanish Harlem, children playing games in Spanish in Union City, N.J., Spanish murals in Los Angeles and children counting in Spanish in El Salvador. Big Bird will conduct a children's mariachi band, learn traditional Cuban songs and eat a birdseed burrito while he visits his friend, Diego, in Arizona. The show will also feature Latino guest stars.

There will also be more emphasis on the Spanish language, says Ms. [Valeria Lovelace], since her research showed that many children have negative feelings about Spanish. For example, the show will feature songs with abierto and cerrado, the Spanish words for open and close. Preschoolers will learn simple words and phrases that will help them make friends with Spanish speakers. Rosita, the bilingual Muppet, will bounce between Spanish and English.