Culture

Dinosaur Train: Paleontology for Kids on PBS

by Jordan Yerman | September 7, 2009 at 08:49 am

862 views | 13 Recommendations | 3 comments

Dinosaur Train. I wish I thought of that. Combining two things that capture a child's imagination, dinosaurs and trains, has led to a new TV show for preschoolers. Your 4-year-old can follow a family of pteranodons and their adopted Tyrannosaurus as they travel through prehistory as well as check in with real-life paleontologists. Pteranodons can fly, but Tyrannosaurs cannot, which is why, one presumes, they must travel by train.

How early is too early to learn about dinosaurs? Trick question. No such thing as too early for dinosaurs. This is because dinosaurs rule (see below).
I'm not affiliated with this show, much to my dismay, but am posting this story to point out that not all preschool television is dumbed-down, and finally some network green-lighters are realizing that kids' brains are sponges for information.

Take a toy dinosaur. Put it in a toy train.

Bang. You've got a surefire concept for a preschool television show.

Any preschool teacher will tell you: Dinosaurs rule.

Too right. So do shows about science:

“I have a hypothesis,” he states in nearly every episode. And his siblings translate: “He means an idea you can test.”

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a211423

at 10:07 on September 7th, 2009

While I am not a proponent of putting children in front of the television, shows like Mr. Rodgers and Seasame Street did win me over in terms of educational value years ago. Similarly, I like the description you gave of this new show because it appears to promote diversity by introducing and accepting the adoption of the Tyrannosaurus by Pteranodons. It could also show cooperation among diverse groups, those who can fly and those who cannot, which could also introduce the concepts of sharing of wealth and accepting the differences in people whether they are of a different religion, race, or handicapped.

Thank you for posting this story.

Jordan Yerman

at 10:31 on September 7th, 2009

When I first heard about this, I yelled, "All abooooaaaard!", as per Ozzy Osbourne in Crazy Train. I don't think that this show has anything to do with that particular Black Sabbath classic, though. Good thing there's nobody else around at the moment.