PBS KIDS will premiere an all-new, one-hour movie special for its hit series Dinosaur Train, “What’s at the Center of the Earth?,” on Monday, February 20. Created by Craig Bartlett (Ready Jet Go!) and produced by The Jim Henson Company, the show encourages preschoolers to apply scientific thinking as they discover new prehistoric species, familiarizing them with paleontology and natural science.
In “What’s at the Center of the Earth?,” the Conductor has a special surprise for the Pteranodon Family: the Dinosaur Drill Train. This amazing machine gives its passengers a front row seat as they dig deep underground on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure below the Earth’s surface. There, they discover a whole new world – from fossils and troglobites to rivers of lava. Along the way, the family gains a new perspective on our planet and what it’s made of.
The special comprises four stories: Layers!, Fossils!, Troglobites! and Minerals!
Following its debut, the deep-digging adventure will repeat through the rest of the month on PBS Stations and the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream, as well as being available through pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video App. “What’s at the Center at the Earth?” will also join four other Dinosaur Train stories on a DVD release on Feb. 21.
“With this new Dinosaur Train special, we are excited to give families another opportunity to engage with their favorite characters and learn about nature and science,” said Lesli Rotenberg, SVP and General Manager, Children’s Media and Education, PBS. “By delivering educational programming through our member stations and their newly launched PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream, we look forward to continuing to serve America’s children anytime and anywhere.”
New digital content for Dinosaur Train will include a new “Fossil Finder” game that lets players travel underground in the Drill Train on their own fossil hunt, which will launch the week of Feb. 13 on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Games app.
Dinosaur Train airs weekdays on PBS KIDS and daily on PBS KIDS 24/7. The series is produced by The Jim Henson Co. and co-produced with Sparky Animation (Singapore), with the participation and assistance of the Singapore Media Development Authority.
