Dinosaur Train

We don't have Sky TV, so we seem to miss out on a lot of children's programmes. So I was delighted when we were asked to review a new show on Nick Jr, called Dinosaur Train.

The blurb:
Dinosaur Train is produced by the Jim Henson company. It's a cartoon about a whimsically realistic, prehistoric world of jungles, swamps, active volcanoes and oceans. The show stars Buddy, a curious, funny and intelligent T-Rex, in a family of Pteranodons.

In each episode, while on the Dinosaur Train, Buddy makes a hypothesis and begins searching for the answers to his queries with the help of his mum, the Conductor and the new dinosaurs that he meets on the train.

Dinosaur Train will help children ages three to six to apply scientific thinking as they discover new types of dinosaur species, compare and contrast dinosaurs to today's creatures and embrace the living sciences of paleontology and natural science.

Each 22 minute show features two animated episodes. Based on input from paleontologists, science teachers and early childhood education experts, Dinosaur Train promotes critical thinking skills for preschoolers based on an engaging and creative curriculum.

Our verdict:
Presley, 4, and Cash, 3, absolutely love Dinosaur Train. They are glued to the screen and have watched the episodes on the DVD we were sent over and over again. The science bit is sticking. They know an awful lot about a couple of dinosaurs now. They are also engaging in imaginative play and using role play to pretend to be dinosaurs on their own train.

Dinosaur Train is currently on the Nick Jr channel every afternoon.

Disclosure: We were sent a promotional DVD, a Nick Jr goody bag and some Easter chocolate courtesy of Nick Jr. I have already hidden the chocolate!