Maria's Space: All Aboard Dinosaur Train Fans - New Show Friday & A Giveaway

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

All Aboard Dinosaur Train Fans - New Show Friday & A Giveaway

“Dinosaur Train” will celebrate America’s love of trains with special programming and activities throughout the month of May. To kick off, the award-winning and critically acclaimed animated preschool series from The Jim Henson Company, will debut an all new episode this Friday, May 6 on PBS KIDS (please check local listings). Additionally, special train-themed activities and events will be featured in partnership with local PBS stations and on the series’ website.

Celebrating National Train Day, which takes place on May 7th, the new episode includes two 11-minute animated segments with live-action sequences featuring a paleontologist who brings to life the show's natural science and natural history curriculum for preschoolers. In “Junior Conductor Jamboree,” Buddy and his family ride the Dinosaur Train from one end of the line to the other and visit all three time periods--from the Cretaceous, through the Jurassic, to the Triassic. In “Troodon Train Day,” the Pteranodon family rides to Troodon Town to celebrate Troodon Train Day, where the main event is a concert by King Cryolophosaurus, giving his first performance in years!

Select PBS Stations across the U.S. will also be hosting train-themed events throughout the month. Participating stations include PBS SoCal, Los Angeles; WXXI, Rochester, New York; WJCT, Jacksonville, Florida; Houston PBS; KERA, Dallas, Texas; UNCTV, North Carolina state network; WHYY, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; AETN, Arkansas Educational Television Network; Vegas PBS, Las Vegas, Nevada; and WOSU, Columbus, Ohio. Activities may include Dinosaur Train screenings, Buddy costume character appearances, Buddy standees for photo opportunities, and hands-on educational activities.

In addition to the television series, there is also a “Dinosaur Train” interactive website at www.PBSKIDS.org/dinosaurtrain. Children can join Buddy, Tiny and all their friends as they discover natural history and the science of paleontology through fun games and activities. During the month of May, the website will celebrate trains with a special themed homepage and new fun printable activities. Kids can also play the online game “All Aboard!” to become a Jr. Conductor on the Dinosaur Train! (http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/games/allaboard.html)

What I Can Tell You:

We received a screener copy of the new episodes "The Junior Conductor Jamboree" and “Troodon Train Day" and have watched them about 8 times this week. Yup! 8! Grr...thank goodness, I like this too!

I don't know a single kid who didn't at one time love trains or dinosaurs. Put them together and you have Dinosaur Train, one of the best shows for 3-6 year olds on PBS. Both of my children 6 and turning 8 next week loved the new episodes which are both about 11 minutes long. We love Buddy and both kids fight over him as he is the most popular. Not sure about other households, but my kids always want to be the characters on their favorite shows. "I want to be that girl, boy, etc." I think I did this when I was a kid, but I don't remember. They both want to be Buddy and will literally fight over it.

One of the things I love about the show beside the vibrant colors is how much my kids know about the different dinosaurs and the time periods they lived in. I never knew this much as a kid and still couldn't tell you what period a certain dino lives in. My daughter can tell you all of it. Plus Dinosaur Train has changed the type of books she takes out from the library. She now checks out Dinosaur books! Funny because her father and I, when we were very young, both wanted to be arceologists.

Beside the screener, we received one of the Dinosaur Train Collectible Train Car pieces.

Dinosaur Train Collectible Train Car - Buddy

Based on the new Henson PBS show, the Dinosaur Train collectible segment enables children to collect all of their favorite Dinosaur Train characters, while also expanding their train set. Buddy, a curious, funny, and intelligent T-Rex is the star of the show. This Collectible Train Car Pack includes plastic Buddy figure and decorated train car to match! Buddy rides along in the train car, which can be attached to other Dinosaur Train cars and vehicles (sold separately). SRP: $6.99.

About Dinosaur Train:
In “Dinosaur Train,” young viewers join Buddy the T. rex and his adoptive family of Pteranodons on whimsical adventures through prehistoric jungles, swamps, volcanoes and oceans as they unearth basic concepts in natural science, natural history and paleontology. The Dinosaur Train is a colorful locomotive, customized to accommodate all kinds of dinosaurs, and it has the ability to visit the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous worlds, while the Train’s Conductor, a knowledgeable Troodon, provides passengers with fascinating facts along the way. DINOSAUR TRAIN is a Parents’ Choice Recommended TV series, and its accompanying website received a Parents’ Choice Silver Award and a prestigious 2010 Prix Jeunesse Award. PBSKIDS.org/dinosaurtrain welcomes more than 2.4 million visits each month, offering engaging content designed to continue dinosaur exploration beyond the television series, including printables, games, and a dinosaur field guide. Parents, caregivers and educators can
find resources and activities to extend the series learning at PBS Parents (PBSPARENTS.org) and PBS Teachers (PBSTEACHERS.org).

DINOSAUR TRAIN, created by Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!), is produced by The Jim Henson Company, and co-produced with Singapore animation company Sparky Animation, with the participation and assistance of the Singapore Media Development Authority. UK production and financial support is provided by Ingenious Media. The series is executive produced by Lisa Henson, Brian Henson, Halle Stanford and Craig Bartlett.

The Giveaway: One lucky winner will receive a Dinosaur Train Collectible Train Car with Buddy!

To Win:
Mandatory Entry. If this is not followed, none of your extra entries will count. Leave me a comment letting me know who you are entering for by Midnight, May 17, 2011

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