The Dinosaur Train is arriving at Nick Jr today at 4pm. This is a fun new show created by Craig Bartlett from Hey Arnold and from the Jim Henson company aimed at children aged 3-6 years.
It is a genius idea, combine two favourite childhood things: trains and dinosaurs. I was a little worried as these are things traditionally associated with boys and my daughter, Molly is going through a “girls don’t like that” phase to anything which isn’t pink and feminine. however, I shouldn’t have worried, she loved this and was entranced through the 22 minute show which features two episodes.
The show is set in a prehistoric world of jungles, swamps and active volcanoes. It is realistic except for the magical details of a time traveling train and dinosaurs who can talk. the star of the show is Buddy, a hilarious T-Rex who finds himself in a family of Pteranodons. each episode shows him traveling on the train to search for his family and meeting a set of new dinosaurs. I loved the way it encourages thinking skills as you try to work out if the new dinosaurs could be Buddy’s real family.
You can tell that this show has been based on input from paleontologists, science educators and early school education experts. It brought a lot of discussion in our house about why dinosaurs are extinct and what they were like. It was fascinating to learn about the different dinosaur species. However, the educational aspects don’t dominate. The show is delightfully whimsical and funny as you would expect from the company which brought you the Muppets.
I can see this becoming a family favourite in houses across the country.
Watch Dinosaur Train every night this week at 4pm on Nick Jr
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Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of the Dinosaur Train and a Nick Jr goodie bag. The views expressed are my own and remain honest
