Celebrate Trains Throughout May with Dinosaur Train! (Plus, a Collectible Train Car Giveaway)

On May 6, the hit PBS Kids series, Dinosaur Train, will celebrate America’s love of trains and National Train Day with an all-new episode! The new Dinosaur Train episode includes two 11-minute animated segments, along with the usual 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!

My family was given a sneak preview of these new episodes. When I first told my 7-year-old twins we were going to watch Dinosaur Train, my “big boys” declared that the show is for “little kids”! But when I turned on the show, they couldn’t tear their eyes away from the screen. At one point, my bouncy Austen jumped up and started dancing to one of the songs! So, Dinosaur Train is a hit with kids and big people of all ages, and the new episode is one that your family won’t want to miss!

In addition, select PBS stations across the U.S. will 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.

Finally, I hope that you and your kids will check out the Dinosaur Train interactive website at 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. In 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!

LINKS

Dinosaur Train on PBS: http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/
The Jim Henson Company: www.henson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hensoncompany
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hensonparents

GIVEAWAY

We’re also going to celebrate trains on Susan Heim on Parenting with this giveaway for a Dinosaur Train Collectible Train Car with Buddy (pictured above)! My family received one, and it’s just adorable. In addition to the train car, it includes a Buddy figurine. Kids can collect all of the train cars featuring characters from the Dinosaur Train series and connect them together to build their own dinosaur train! To enter, leave a comment sharing something that your kids or you like to collect. You must do this to enter the giveaway.

After completing the mandatory entry above, you can earn optional, additional entries when you... (leave a separate comment for each)

- Follow Henson Parents (@hensonparents) and Susan Heim on Parenting (@ParentingAuthor) on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may tweet up to three times each day. (Please space them at least an hour apart.) Leave a separate comment with the URL of each tweet. (1 entry per tweet)

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- Place a button for Susan Heim on Parenting on your blog (the code is in the upper right-hand column of this site) and/or a text link on your blog roll. Post a comment with your blog’s URL. (1 entry for button; 1 entry for text link)

- Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link to this page. Leave a comment with a direct link to the post. (3 entries; leave a separate comment for each)

One winner will be randomly selected from the qualified comments received by Monday, May 16, 2011, at 11:59 PM ET. Please leave an email address on one of your comments if it’s not available on your Blogger profile. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be drawn. Contest is open to US residents only.

CONTEST CLOSED. Congratulations to the winner, KIM!



DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary Dinosaur Train Collectible Train Car and a screener of the new show to facilitate my candid review. No financial compensation was provided.