Dinosaur Train

- Season 3

(2014)

Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don go river rafting for the first time at Nature Adventure's Tracking Camp. Their old pal Jess Hesperornis meets up with them and they all learn about erosion and the importance of rivers, before finishing up their adventure by cruising through some rapids.

For their second outing at Nature Trackers Adventure Camp, Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, Don and other friends learn about the tree line as they set out to hike up a mountain. Shiny is determined to get to the top of mountain forest. Buddy wonders if they'll be able to see anything from the mountaintop, through the tall trees. The kids are amazed that the higher they hike, the shorter trees and bushes get. Then they reach the tree line -- a certain point on the mountain, where trees are really small because they don't have enough air to breathe and the temperature is too cold. ...

The Nature Trackers Adventure Campers are back for another adventure and this time they'll be travelling to a rain forest. Once they arrive in the dense, overgrown rain forest, the campers explore different levels of the ecosystem, including the forest floor and the canopy of leaves at the top of the forest. After a hike through the rain forest, the campers' fun adventure culminates as each kid takes a ride on a zip line, where they all get a bird's eye view of the entire rain forest.

The Nature Trackers Adventure Campers are led by Mr. Conductor and Gilbert on a hike down a canyon, where they can see the different layers of the Mesozoic Era. At first Lily Lambeosaurus is reluctant to go, thinking that a new adventure sounds hard, but Don convinces her that a new adventure can be worth the effort. At the bottom of the canyon, the kids play Dinoball and then dig for fossils. Each Nature Tracker goes home with a "new" Ammonite fossil, and Lily is so glad she tried something new.

Our Pteranodon family accompanies Mr. Conductor to the Troodon Town Roundhouse to meet up with Thurston Troodon, the Rocket Train's conductor. They all soon learn that Tricia Troodon - a younger, hotshot conductor -- actually invited everyone there to see her new train - the Solar Train. The kids learn that it's powered by the sun. To test the trains' performances, the three Conductors, along with the help of Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don, have a race to the Triassic between the Dinosaur Train, Thurston's Rocket Train and Tricia's new Solar Train.

Buddy and Tiny give Elliot Enantiornithine, a first timer on the Dinosaur Train, a tour of the Train. When they go through Laura Giganotosaurus' car, she explains to them that today is her bird watching/drawing day, but she hasn't found a single bird to watch. But, there's Elliot. He hams it up for Laura, who watches and draws him. This is so fun that Buddy and Tiny bring Laura to meet another bird friend-- Arlene Archeopteryx. Then Arlene and Elliot introduce the kids and Laura to a new bird named Peng Protopteryx. It's a successful bird watching/drawing day as all ...

After Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don learn that it's Mr. Conductor's birthday, they decide to throw him a surprise party on his favorite place - the Dinosaur Train. The whole family plans the party, and even secretly rides the Rocket Train to pick up friends from all around the Mesozoic and to gather ginkgo leaves for a special birthday cake. The party is a huge success - the Conductor is surprised and moved, and loves his tasty ginkgo leaf birthday cake.

As the Pteranodon kids play in their family nest, Buddy stares at a sky full of clouds and asks the group, "What are clouds?" Mr. Pteranodon and his neighbor, Mr. Lambeosaurus have different opinions. As they all get on the Dinosaur Train, they consider whether clouds are made of water or whether they're just made of fluff. Tiny knows who would have the facts -- Mr. Conductor. He explains that clouds are made of billions of tiny drops of water that are so light they float in the air. He also takes the group to a stop at Cloudy Point Station where the kids play a ...

Tiny can't believe it when he finds out that his friend Cindy Cimolestes doesn't like fish, but she explains that she's a mammal and many mammals don't eat fish. Determined, Tiny sets out to find a mammal in the Mesozoic who likes fish, so she, Buddy, Cindy and Dad set out on a fishing trip, where they run into Cassie Castrocauda, a Jurassic mammal that looks like a cross between a beaver, an otter and a platypus, who also happens to love fish.

One morning at the family nest, Don befriends a Butterfly that he names Dan. Don, Buddy, Tiny and Shiny watch Dan and three "sibling" butterflies fly around. The other three butterflies flutter away, leaving Dan with our kids. Don feels for the separated butterfly and vows to re-unite it with his siblings. After Mom and Dad give a quick lesson about butterfly camouflage, Don leads his siblings all around the nest area searching for Dan the Butterfly's lost "sisters and brother." The whole time, Don keeps an eye on Dan, who camouflages himself when any threat (birds or...

Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don are excited that Keira Chirostenotes gets to babysit them for the night while Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon go out for a dinner on the Dinosaur Night Train. Keira shows the kids how a dead log's decomposition provides food and shelter for many living creatures. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon are gleeful as they enjoy their date, exploring the Dinosaur Train's other compartments. Mom and Dad return from their date to find their kids filled with more smiles than when they left them and, later, their pillows filled with several of the little bugs...

The Pteranodon kids are spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa Pteranodon. On the Dinosaur Train on the way to their grandparents', Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don learn about sycamore trees. Grandma and Grandpa are so excited to have a whole day with their grandparents and doubly-excited to do a special "project" with them. They bring the kids to a field lined with sycamore trees and show them one tall one in particular that was - Can you believe it!? - planted by their Dad when he was a kid. Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don get to plant their own sycamore saplings and vow ...

The Pteranodon kids are playing a game called "I'm the Biggest," which raises the question: how big is the biggest frog? Dad takes the kids on the Dinosaur Train to find the biggest frog ever, the legendary Beelzebufo. Once off the train, they have to take a river raft to find this illusive creature, but find him they do. The kids are surprised to find that Benny Beelzebufo isn't nearly as large (or mean) as they'd imagined, but he is definitely the biggest frog they've ever seen. Benny teaches the kids about his "sit-still-and-wait" hunting style and shows off his ...

The Pteranodon family rides the "Night Train" all the way back to the Jurassic to visit their nocturnal friend, Vlad Volaticotherium, who tells them that he wants to take them caving. Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don don't even know what caving is, but they are soon having a great time seeing all of the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites that have formed inside the cave. They also learn that it can be a lot of fun to hear your voice echo down the cave's long caverns.

The Pteranodon family is super excited to be traveling to the 'Classic in the Jurassic', an Olympics type competition in which different dinosaur teams representing the three Mesozoic time periods will compete in various contests. Today's competition is a race between turtle and theropod teams. When the fast running theropods all get tangled up at the finish line, the race comes down to the slow moving turtles. It's an exciting race as the turtles are neck and neck. Who will win this pre-historic match up?

Buddy, Tiny and Mrs. Pteranodon are eating lunch at Pteranodon Terrace, and even though they've just eaten a big fish meal, Buddy's tummy is still grumbly-hungry. Mom understands that because Buddy is a carnivore he needs meat, so she takes the kids to the Dining Car on the Dinosaur Train so Buddy can eat some carrion. While dining, Laura Giganotosaurus tells Buddy that the best meal she ever ate was prepared by her cousin, Chef Carson Carcharodontosaurus. So Buddy, Tiny, Mom and Laura all travel to meet the boisterous and generous Chef C and eat some of his famous ...

The Pteranodon Family is excited to be going back to the 'Classic in the Jurassic'. This time, it's a race between pterosaurs from each of the three Time Periods. The best part-all of the family members will have a role to play in the race. Mom and Tiny will be in-air referees, Buddy and Don will do "play-by-play", and Dad and Shiny will man the start and finish lines. It's an exciting race as the pterosaurs fly between hanging vines, swoop through a canyon, push through a wind tunnel, slalom over and under branches, then carry food from a pond as they race to the ...

Buddy, Tiny and Mom are riding the Dinosaur Train when they bump into their old friend, Crystal Cryolophosaurus. She's on her way to visit King Cryolophosaurus down in the Jurassic Antarctic and invites our family along. Mom and the kids jump at the chance, and upon arrival surprise King as he's singing a brand new song, Top Carnivore. King and Crystal's heartfelt reunion is marred when Crystal tries to convince a reluctant King to take this fantastic new song out on the road to share with his adoring Mesozoic fans. But King doesn't like leaving home and excuses ...

It's time for the 'Classic in the Jurassic' - the Mesozoic Olympics. Today's "Air, Water and Land" contest is a three-part competition pitting teams consisting of a pterosaur and a crocodile from each Time Period against one another. Mrs. Pteranodon, Tiny and Shiny are recruited to help in one of the three "legs" of the race, while Buddy, Don and Dad watch from the stands. The competition's three "legs" are flying, swimming and a lap around a track. Early on, Team Cretaceous pulls ahead and hold onto its lead, until the wild card of the race is revealed: Team ...

While playing 'Cold and Hot,' a game they made up, the Pteranodon kids learn from Mr. Pteranodon that there might be more variety in the desert then they imagined. Their curiosity piqued, they plead for a trip to investigate the desert scene. Mr. Conductor tells them just how diverse plant and animal life can be in the desert. He happens to know a desert mammal Fruitafossor. Upon disembarking from the Dinosaur Train, the Pteranodon kids meet Frankie Fruitafossor, a chipmunk-sized mammal. They quickly learn that their assumption that desert life was hot all the time ...

The 'Classic in the Jurassic' games are back, and this time, it's the Ultimate Smackdown. Mr. Conductor explains the "wrestling" match-ups from the three Time Periods are: T. Rex vs. Triceratops, Allosaurus vs. Stegosaurus and, Zupaysaurus vs. Riojasaurus (dinos new to the Pteranodon clan.) Fears that competitors may get injured are allayed by the explanation of how the 'Smackdown' works - the best choreographed and most entertaining show wins. Morris Stegosaurus beats Alvin Allosaurus. When Ziggy Zupaysaurus goes up against Renaldo Riojasaurus, Mr. Conductor explains...

Buddy and Tiny start wondering aloud whether the Triassic was the beginning of time, and if there was anything before the Age of Dinosaurs. So, to the Dinosaur Train they go where Mr. Conductor takes them back to the beginning of the Triassic time period to get some answers. In the Triassic, Buddy, Tiny, Mom, and Mr. Conductor meet up with Erma Eoraptor who is happy to explore the "before the Triassic" question with them. Our group walks through a Pedestrian Time Tunnel (that's beyond the end of the train tracks) to get to the Permian Time Period, the time period ...

The Pteranodon kids are riding the Dinosaur Train with friend and fellow pterosaur, Quincy Queztalcoatlus. When they pass by a waterfall, Buddy comments on how big it is. Quincy's dad mentions a giant waterfall at the edge of the Western Interior Sea. Mr. Conductor gives a lesson about waterfalls and then suggests a unique and amazing way to view the giant falls - from above. They can fly in the experimental Dinosaur Train Zeppelin...if Thurston Troodon will agree to take them all there on the zeppelin's maiden voyage. Thurston does and our Pteranodon family gets to ...

When the Pteranodon family spots Annie and her T. Rex herd migrating to follow the food, the Pteranodon kids wonder if other creatures, even marine mammals, also migrate. The Conductor flies the Pteranodon family over the ocean in the Dinosaur Train Zeppelin to look for Polycotylus, a type of marine reptile that does migrate in the ocean. After spotting a pod of migrating Polycotylus from the sky, the Zeppelin lands in an atoll and our family meets Paulette and Polly Polycotylus, a mother and daughter (from what is modern-day Australia.) Our Pteranodon kids, and Mom, ...

When the Pteranodon kids decide to draw some maps, Don's map of one big land mass for "the whole Mesozoic" triggers a discussion on whether the Mesozoic is "one big place that's all connected" or comprised of a bunch of smaller, interconnected land masses. On the Dinosaur Train, the Conductor explains that millions of years ago there actually was just one big land mass called "Pangaea". Then, over a long period of time, it started to drift apart and form separate, smaller landmasses, or continents. Our family can't believe it. The Conductor offers to take the ...

As the Pteranodon kids are playing outside their nest, a few seedpods fall from a nearby tree, bonking Don on the head. This leads to a discussion about how far away things can fall from...maybe even from space?? Buddy hypothesizes that perhaps if a star came close enough, it could land on Earth. On the Dinosaur Train, the Conductor explains that things actually do fall from space. Big space rocks, called "asteroids", sometimes land on Earth, and when they occasionally do, they make a biiiiig hole, called a crater. Don perks up at this-he'd love to see a crater. So ...