Hello, folks! It's me the conductor. Today, we're gonna
Ride to the north pole and meet my distant relatives the
Northern troodons, so come on along with me on the dinosaur
Train! All aboard!
This progra ♪ dinosaur train ♪
[Whistle blows] ♪ dinosaur train ♪
♪ Once upon a time there was a mom
Her name was mrs. Pteranodon sitting on her nest
She heard a scratching and said... ♪
Oh, boy! My eggs are hatching!
♪ One by one her kids popped free
Baby pteranodons , , ♪
I'll name you tiny, shiny, and don.
♪ But tiny said... ♪ Wait! There's one more, mom!
♪ Last little baby was a different size
With teeth and a tail and big green eyes
He didn't look anything like the rest ♪
What am I doing in a pteranodon nest?
♪ But dear, old mrs. Pteranodon said... ♪
Oh, this is your family, and I'm your mom. You may be
Different, but we're all creatures. All dinosaurs have
Different features. Come on, buddy. We'll take a vacation.
I'll get us a ticket at pteranodon station. We'll
Travel the world in sunshine and rain and meet all the
Species on the...
♪ Dinosaur train ♪ ♪ dinosaur train ♪
♪ Dinosaur train ♪ ♪ dinosaur train ♪
♪ We're gonna ride ♪ ♪ ride, ride, ride, ride ♪
[Whistle blows] ♪ the dinosaur train ♪
[Roaring] [captioning made possible by
The jim henson company] I can't believe we're taking
The dinosaur train all the way to the north pole!
[Squawk] I know! I'm so excited!
You should be, kids. Today, we're gonna ride to the top of
The world.
[Cheering] this will be a great
Expedition. The north pole is so amazing in mid-winter.
Yep. With any luck, you kids are gonna see your very first
Snow.
Snow?
Snow! Huh? What's that?
Well, uh, gee. Ok. When water gets really cold, it
Turns into ice, and then it falls from the sky as snow. Heh.
Hmm.
What?
I think I'm gonna need the conductor to explain this.
[Train whistle blows] oh! And there he comes now!
Hooray! The dinosaur train!
Whoo-hoo!
All aboard!
I can't wait! When it snows, I'm gonna do a snow dance.
♪ Da da da da da da dee da da ♪
Toot-toot!
Oops! Sorry, mr. The conductor.
Tickets, please!
Heh heh heh!
Well, rattle my caboose!
You're going to the north pole in mid-winter.
Yeah! We're gonna see snow!
Whatever that is.
Ahem. Well, you know how rain sometimes falls from the
Clouds.
Yeah!
When the air gets cold enough, the rain freezes and
Turns into snowflakes.
Whoa!
Isn't that what I said?
Ooh! They're so beautiful.
[Squawk] and shiny!
The world of dinosaurs is a very hot place, but there are
Still a few places like the north pole where it gets cold
Enough to snow once in a while, and in mid-winter, it's always
Dark up there.
You mean, it's like one long night?
Yep! For most of the winter!
Hmm.
This time of year, the earth tilts away from the sun, so up
North, it's dark day and night.
I have a hypothesis. Since the north pole is dark in the
Winter and it's so cold that the water freezes into snow,
There must be no dinosaurs at the north pole.
Hmm. Interesting hypothesis, buddy, but what about nocturnal
Dinosaurs like us troodons? We hunt for food at night.
Yeah, but even if troodons like the dark, it still must be
Too cold.
Even for troodons!
Well, uh, you look around up there and see if there are any
Dinosaurs. Oh, and be sure and let me know when you come back.
Yeah!
Whoops! Ahem. Time tunnel!
Time tunnel approaching, folks!
Whoa! It's night here just like the conductor said.
North pole station in another part of the cretaceous
Time period!
[Squawk] I'm glad there's a full moon.
We can see pretty well out here.
Wow! It really is cold up here. I can barely feel my
Fingers.
Hon, look. There's a big patch!
[Squawk] here's your snow, kids!
Wow! It's so white!
Brr! And cold!
Hey, don. Aren't you gonna do your snow dance?
Not yet. This snow isn't falling out of the sky. I think
I'll save my snow dance for when that happens.
Hey. Look, you guys! You can make the snow into balls!
Whoa!
Hey! See if you can hit me.
Hoo-hoo!
[Giggling] ha ha ha! No! Missed me! Ha
Ha ha! D'oh!
Yes!
The north pole is really fun!
Yeah, and I think my hypothesis was right. There
Don't seem to be any dinosaurs here at all.
Well, we should really explore and investigate around
The place to test your hypothesis, buddy.
Hmm. That's an excellent idea.
Aah!
Hey. I'm travis troodon.
[Shudders] hi. I'm tiny pteranodon, and
This is my brother buddy and my mom and dad and shiny and don.
Hello!
Hi.
So you're a troodon? You look different from the
Troodons on the dinosaur train.
Yeah. I'm a northern troodon. We're different
Because we got a lot more feathers, eh.
So there are dinosaurs at the north pole after all.
Most definitely!
Cool!
Heh heh heh! Guess your hypothesis was wrong, buddy.
Yeah, but I have a new hypothesis. Travis, I bet your
Extra feathers help you live up here where it's cold.
Well, bingo, little guy.
Like all troodons, I make lots of heat inside my body, and
That helps to keep me warm, eh, and all these extra feathers
Help me hold onto that warmth.
And your eyes are extra big.
Do they help you see better in the dark?
They do help me hunt in the dark. We're omnivores. We eat
Meat and plants and, like, pretty much whatever we can
Find up here.
There can't be anything else living up here in the dark, can
There?
Oh, yeah! Lots of creatures!
Duck-billed hadrosaurs, reptiles, even furry, little
Mammals. Ooh! Like that guy!
[Chomp] aah!
[Gulp] um, no further questions.
Oh, come on. I'll show you around. You can meet my friends.
How long is this winter night, travis?
Oh, it's long. It will be many more weeks before we can
See the sun again.
That must be hard living in the dark for so long.
Oh, I don't know. You get used to it.
But don't you ever get bored?
Oh, no way! There are lots of fun things to do on a long
Winter night. Follow me!
Whoa!
Heh heh.
Aah!
Oh, oh, oh! Ha ha ha!
Whoa! Oh! Ha ha ha!
Whoo-hoo! Ha ha ha!
Dad, can I hold your hand?
Sure, shiny. Here you go.
Whoa, whoa!
Ha ha ha!
Don't worry. You get used to it. I used to fall down, too.
Hold on. I'll call my friends.
Hey, you guys! This is the pteranodon family. They were
Asking what we northern troodons do for fun all winter.
We play knock the frozen gourd around!
Knock the frozen gourd around? What's that?
Well, we use a stick to slap this little gourd across the
Ice, see, and then we try to hit the gourd into that goal
Over there, and that guy tries to stop us.
Yeah!
What do you say, team? Let's try it!
Yeah!
Go, team pteranodon!
[Laughing and cheering] whoa, whoa, aah!
[Squawk] excuse me.
Whoa!
Coming through!
Check it out, eh?
Oh, yeah!
♪ Go, shiny go, shiny
Go, shiny go, shiny ♪
Oh, whoa!
Yay!
Score!
You guys ok?
Yeah. I think we're not very good at knock the frozen gourd
Around.
Hey. No prob, bob. There's lots of other things to do in
The winter here.
Like what?
Like have you ever made a snow dinosaur?
No!
Great! I'll show you how.
You guys go ahead. I'm gonna play one more round with these
Guys.
Ok. Start by rolling up a big snowball.
Ha ha ha!
Boy, what a perfect day at the north pole.
Well, not perfect. We still need to see snow fall out of
The sky like dad said.
Travis, do you think we'll get to see snow fall out of the
Sky?
[Sniffs] hmm. We northern troodons can
Usually smell when it's gonna snow.
I think I can smell snow!
Really? Snow is gonna fall out of the sky?
Maybe.
Snow, snow! Come on and snow!
[Train whistle blows] uh-oh. There's the dinosaur
Train, kids. We'd better get going.
Awww!
Don't worry, don. We'll come back to the north pole again.
[Squawk] sure. Maybe next winter.
Next winter? But that's forever from now.
Hey. What are all those little white things falling out of
The s--ohh!
Snow!
Heh heh heh! You're right, don! It's snow, kids!
It's snow!
Whoo-hoo!
Hooray!
Now I can dance!
♪ It's the season for train rides and snowing
The reason everybody's going to the great big dinosaur
Holiday in the snow ho ho ho ♪
♪ Troodons are gonna be a-swingin'
Come on, everybody's singin' at the great big dinosaur
Holiday in the snow ♪ all right. Give her, travis!
♪ And tonight the snowflakes are gently gonna fall ♪
♪ We'll dance together we're gonna shake a feather
We're gonna have a ball it will be big fun
Our eyes will be glowin' come on
It's time to be goin' to the great big dinosaur
Holiday in the snow ♪ let's go!
[Cheering] careful!
This is fun, eh?
Missed me!
Coming through!
♪ And tonight the snowflakes are gently gonna fall ♪
♪ We'll dance together we're gonna shake a feather
We're gonna have a ball it's the season
For train rides and snowing the reason everybody's going
To the great big dinosaur holiday in the snow
To the great big dinosaur holiday in the snow ♪
[Giggling] hi, there. I'm dr. Scott the
Paleontologist, and these are both troodons.
But they look different!
Great observation. They are different. Troodons lived way
Up north in the arctic and also way down south. We don't know
For sure, but it's possible that troodons living in the far
North had more feathers to help keep them warm.
Like wearing a coat!
Just like humans wear coats to stay warm, some birds use a
Thicker covering of feathers, and dinosaurs like troodon may
Have done the same thing.
[Doorbell rings] point of fact! Troodons did
Not play games like ice hockey.
Aw!
Thank you.
Well, that's true, but troodons living way up north
Probably did see some ice and snow during the winter.
Yay!
Can you think of any animals alive today with feathers or
Fur that live in cold climates?
Bears!
That's true. Some bears grow extra fur on their bodies to
Help them stay warm during really cold winter months, and
During winter, there's lots of...
Snow!
Back in the age of dinosaurs, though, it was a lot
Warmer than it is today, so the north pole wasn't covered in
Snow and ice all the time.
Well, that's all for now. Keep watching for more dinosaur
Discoveries.
Dinosaurs had feathers!
Troodons have feathers?
Like me!
Whoa! They're amazing!
Well, thanks, buddy.
I'm a northern troodon.
We're different because we got a lot more feathers, eh.
We're looking for a match for this feather.
Hmm. Looks familiar.
I wish I had your amazing feathers. Can we compare this
One to yours?
Wow!
The feather mystery is solved! Whoo-hoo!
♪ Every day, I go down to the station
And look on down the shining tracks
Then I hear that old lonesome whistle blowing
And I'm so glad that old train is coming back
Because I love trains ♪ ♪ whoo whoo ♪
♪ I just love trains well, I can't explain
But I won't complain I only know that I love trains ♪
Hello, folks! It's me the conductor. Today, we're gonna
Ride to troodon town for a big mid-winter celebration, so come
On along with me on the dinosaur train! All aboard!
Ooh! Look at that tree! It's so tall and skinny without
Leaves.
That one's not tall at all, and those bushes are really
Bare. I bet some herbivores came by and ate all the leaves.
[Sighs] I've always loved this time of
Year.
Why?
Well, when I was a little pteranodon, my family always
Celebrated the shortest day of the year, the day with the
Least amount of sunlight. We called it winter solstice.
How did you celebrate it?
Did you have a party? I love parties!
Wait a minute! When you were little?
Believe it or not, don, I was once a little pteranodon
Just like you.
So does that mean you sometimes forgot to wash your
Hands before you ate or wipe your feet before you got into
Your nest?
Heh. Maybe, but that was when I was little, way before I
Was mom.
I knew it!
But what about the shortest day of the year? Did you have a
Party?
We did, and the thing that I really loved to do the most was
Helping my brothers and sisters decorate my family's nest. We
Used the branches of really tall evergreen trees. They're
Called conifers.
Conifers!
Hey. Can we decorate our nest with conifers?
Oh! That sounds like a wonderful idea!
[Cheering] except, where are we going
To find those evergreen trees?
Yeah. Is there anywhere around here where those really
Tall conifer trees grow?
I couldn't help but hear your questions, so I can't help
But answer them.
Hey! I remember seeing a tree like that. A herbivore was
Eating its branches.
Excellent observation, buddy. Most conifers are
Evergreens, which means they're green and tasty all year round.
How tall can conifers get?
Well, they grow taller than any tree I've ever seen.
Even taller than me?
Ned!
Hi! The rest of me is in the observation car.
No tree can be taller than ned.
Especially when he really stretches his brachiosaurus
Neck up high.
You mean, like this? Hmm?
Mm! Leaves! Delicious!
Now that's a long neck, but believe it or not, some
Conifers can grow even taller than our friend ned.
Whoa!
And yet the mighty conifer starts from one of these, a
Seed cone.
Ooh!
I have a hypothesis. I think that the seed cone must have
Little seeds that the conifer trees grow from.
I don't know, buddy. How could something that small ever
Grow into something as huge as a giant conifer tree?
Well, great big trees have to come from somewhere.
Maybe soon, you'll get the chance to test buddy's
Hypothesis.
Mr. The conductor, did you know that my mom was little
Once, too, and she liked to celebrate the shortest day of
The year?
Interesting, mr. The don. I know all about the shortest day
Of the year because we troodons also celebrate the winter
Solstice. We visit the biggest conifer, and then we have a
Huge party.
You visit the biggest conifer?
And have a huge party?
Yep! If anyone wants to see some big conifers, then you
Better get off at troodon town, where you can visit the biggest
Ones ever.
[Squawk] oh! Oh! Can we stop? Can we get
Off the train and see the biggest conifers?
Sure we can, hon.
If mom wants to see a huge conifer, then so do we!
Wonderful! We'll all have a great time. Oh, speaking of
Time, time tunnel! Time tunnel approaching!
Next stop troodon town! Troodon town in another part of the
Cretaceous time period.
[Squawk] oh! The troodons are getting
Off the train to celebrate!
It's just like when I was a little pteranodon! Ha ha ha!
[Humming] hey! There's some green
Trees! Are they conifers?
They aren't that big.
Yeah. They don't look big enough to be conifers.
Nope. Those are evergreens, but they're the small kind. The
Big conifers are up that hill.
Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find some big
Conifers!
Great idea, mrs. "P"! Let's go!
Ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha!
[Squawk] mom, don't run.
[Squawk] oh, well.
Ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha!
[Squawk] ooh!
Whoa! These trees are huge!
Yeah! Bigger than anything I ever imagined!
Yeah! Even taller than me!
I know I've never seen trees this big before.
[Gasp] big, big conifer!
Whoa! That's so tall!
Pteranodon family, meet the araucaria conifer. It's
Probably-- the tallest tree any of you
Will ever see!
Right! I was gonna say that.
Ohh! Duh! Mom?!
Hello, son! Home for the holidays, are you? Were you
Ever gonna drop by and visit me?
Well, yeah, mom. I was ju--i was just gonna come and see
You--i mean, just-- hello, mrs. Conductor!
Well, hello, kids! So nice to see you again! Are you here
For the winter solstice celebration, too?
Yeah. The conductor is showing us the biggest conifer.
Oh, yes. It's huge! And don't forget the little baby
Conifers, too!
Baby conifers?
The ones you're almost standing on. Ha ha!
Whoops! Sorry!
Hmm. Buddy, do you remember your hypothesis?
Yeah. That great big conifers must grow from little,
Tiny seeds. Wow! So these little conifers will grow and
Grow until they become those huge conifers?
Hmm. The same-shaped branches as the big conifers,
Same color.
[Sniffs] oh! And definitely the same
Smell.
So these are the same kind of trees as those big ones.
Hmm. Seed cone, conifer.
Cone, conifer.
Don, you are exactly right.
Conifers come from the seeds in those cones.
Buddy, your hypothesis was right. Seed cones grow into big
Conifers!
Yep! It's just like our family. Your mom and I started
Out as little pteranodons, and now we're grownup sized!
And buddy started out as a little tyrannosaurus, but
Someday, you'll be huge.
Yeah! Rawwr!
Boww! Arr! Oh, yes! Even my sonny boy used to be a wee,
Little troodon once, and then he grew up straight and tall
Just like a conifer! Aw, look at him now.
Aw, gee, mom.
And he's the best darned winter solstice tree decorator
In troodon town! Right, sonny boy?
Well, ha ha ha!
I love tree decorating. What do you troodons use?
Oh, well, berries. We weave sticks into different shapes.
We find seed cones and all kinds of different cones and
Holly leaves.
[Squawk] oh! Come on, everybody! Let's
Find some right now. Ha ha ha!
[Squawk] come on, everybody!
Ha ha ha!
[Humming] wow.
Beautiful.
Amazing.
The tree is almost perfect.
Almost?
Mm-hmm. It's missing something. Ohh! There's nothing
At the way up tippy-top. We need to put something all the
Way up there.
Hmm. Ohh!
How about this?
[Squawk] that is perfect!
Mom, dad, isn't there some way we could fly it to the top?
Hmm.
[Squawk] maybe if we do it together?
Yeah. Let's do it, hon.
Buddy. You grab the pine cone.
Hon, you grab buddy, and I'll grab you.
[Cheering] ♪ go, mom, go, dad
Go, buddy go, mom, go, dad
Go, buddy ♪ [cheering]
What a great party! I love parties!
[Squawk] happy winter solstice, everyone!
♪ La la loo ♪ isn't my mom the greatest?
Ohh!
Y-yeah. In fact, all moms are amazing.
Aw, thank you, sonny boy.
Anything for you, mom. Now my favorite part of the winter
Solstice celebration.
We get to decorate the dinosaur train!
[Cheering] oh! It's so beautiful. Just
Like when I was a little pteranodon.
Well, I saved you some green boughs so you can decorate your
Nest!
Aw.
Wow! Thanks!
Oh! Time to get back to pteranodon terrace! All aboard!
Bye, mrs. Conductor!
So long! See you soon! Don't be a stranger, sonny boy!
Bye, mom!
[Whistle blows] so this was the shortest day
Of the year?
Yep.
That's funny because it seemed like the longest.
Well, tomorrow, the days will start getting longer
Again, a little more sunlight every day. I can't wait.
Happy winter solstice, hon.
Aw.
Yeah! Happy winter solstice!
Hi, there. I'm dr. Scott the paleontologist, and this giant
Tree is a conifer from the cretaceous time period.
That's really tall!
I'll say. Some ancient conifers like this one grew to
At least feet. There are lots of conifers around today
Like pine, cedar, and fir trees, and some, like redwoods,
Are the tallest living things on earth, way bigger than the
Biggest dinosaurs. Some redwood trees can be over feet tall.
Whoa! That's a big tree.
The leaves or needles of many conifers stay green all
Year long. That's why we call them evergreens. All of these
Amazing trees, including the ones that lived with the
Dinosaurs, have one important thing in common. No matter how
Giant they get, trees start off as small seeds. Pretty cool,
Huh? Well, that's all for now.
Remember, get outside, get into nature, and make your own
Discoveries.
Did you know that the dinosaur train travels
Everywhere in the mesozoic era?
Let's look at the map. There was the triassic, jurassic, and
Cretaceous time periods. Let's visit the cretaceous. Many new
Kinds of flowers and insects appeared during this time. The
Most dinosaurs, like tyrannosaurus rex, and flying
Creatures, like pteranodons, lived in the cretaceous, and
That's just one of the stops on the dinosaur train!
Being a big dino might be cool, but how about us little
Ones? I think we rule! We've got the power!
We've got the power!
We've got the mikey and tiny power!
Yeah!
We love playing ♪ dinosaur train
Dinosaur train ♪ ♪ dinosaur train
Dinosaur train we're gonna ride
The dinosaur train ♪ ♪ dinosaur train ♪
♪ Dinosaur train ♪ ♪ dinosaur train ♪
♪ Dinosaur train ♪ ♪ dinosaur train ♪
♪ We're gonna ride ♪ ♪ ride, ride, ride, ride ♪
♪ The dinosaur train ♪
01x17 - Dinosaurs In The Snow/Cretaceous Conifers
Watch/Buy Amazon Merchandise
Set in a whimsical prehistoric world of jungles, swamps, active volcanoes and oceans, all filled with dinosaur and other prehistoric animal life, and connected by a train line known eponymously as the Dinosaur Train
Set in a whimsical prehistoric world of jungles, swamps, active volcanoes and oceans, all filled with dinosaur and other prehistoric animal life, and connected by a train line known eponymously as the Dinosaur Train