05x06 - A New Leaf/Love Day

[bunniefuu]

- Hello, folks! It's me, the Conductor!

Today, we'll learn how the different parts

of an ecosystem are kind of like

different members of a family!

So come on along with me on the Dinosaur Train!

All aboard!

- ♪ Dinosaur Train, 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, one, two, three ♪

- I'll name you Tiny, Shiny, and Don.

- ♪ But Tiny said ♪ - Wait, there's one more, Mom.

- ♪ The 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 ♪

[train whistle toots]

- ♪ The Dinosaur Train ♪

- [roars]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

[thunder rumbles]

- [sighs]

- Tiny, time to wake up!

- Tiny, Mom says it's time to wake up.

- I am awake.

- Then why aren't you getting up?

Are you still tired?

- No, I just don't feel like doing anything today.

- Oh, okay.

Tiny says she doesn't feel like getting up.

- Well, ask her again, please.

It's time for breakfast,

and your father and I can't make repairs

to the nest while somebody's in it.

- Mom says you have to get up.

They need to fix the nest today.

- [sighs]

♪ ♪

[gulps] May I please be excused?

I want to go to my Tiny Place.

- You feeling okay, Tiny?

- Yeah, I'm just not very hungry today.

- I am!

[gulps]

- All right then.

Be back in time for dinner, please.

- Tiny.

Tiny!

- What? - Can I talk to you?

What's wrong?

- I just feel a little sad today.

- Why? Did something happen?

- No, sometimes I just feel sad for no reason.

- Oh, okay.

I guess I'll leave you alone then.

I hope you feel better, Tiny.

- Thanks, Shiny.

- Mom, can I talk to you?

- Um, of course, honey. What is it?

- What do you do when somebody is sad

and they don't know why, they just are?

- I suppose that depends.

Sometimes, you can do nice things for somebody

to cheer them up.

But you know, Shiny, there's nothing wrong with being sad.

- There isn't? - Of course not.

We all feel sad at times.

Or mad, or lonely, or scared.

- That's true.

- There's nothing bad or wrong about any of those feelings.

Sometimes you just need to feel your feelings,

whatever those feelings may be.

- Sometimes when I get mad,

I just like to stomp my feet and feel mad.

And then, after awhile, I don't feel so mad anymore.

- [chuckles] Exactly!

So when somebody feels sad,

sometimes they just need to feel sad.

And the best thing you can do

is remind them you love them.

[chuckles]

- Thanks, Mom. That helps.

- Anytime, dear.

You know, flowers are a nice way

to show somebody you love them,

because not only are they pretty to look at

and nice to smell,

they take a lot of love to grow, too.

- [sniffs] Good idea, Mom!

- Just a suggestion.

- What you doing there, kiddo?

- Just getting some flowers to show somebody I love them.

- Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Shiny.

Flowers take a lot of love to grow,

which is why they're perfect to give to somebody you love.

- That's what Mom said, too!

- Well, your mom's a smart lady.

[thunder rumbles]

See, flowers need the love of the sunlight,

soil, insects, and even this rain.

All of these things together make up an ecosystem.

- Oh, right!

An ecosystem is all the parts of nature

that work together, right? Sort of like a family?

- That's right!

The different parts of an ecosystem are

a lot like the different members of a family.

- I don't really like it when it rains,

but then I remember that rain is a part of the ecosystem,

and helps make the flowers grow.

- Exactly! The rain, sun, and soil,

are all necessary to grow these flowers.

And when the flower dies, it goes back into the ground

and feeds the soil for the next flower.

The whole process starts all over again.

- [squawks] Neat!

- Fun fact: Did you know

that flowers first started growing

during the Cretaceous Time Period?

Before that, there were no flowers.

- Really? Wow.

I can't imagine life without flowers.

- Mm, me neither.

Alright, kiddo, got to run. Lots to do back at the nest!

- Thanks, Dad!

[humming]

♪ I'm picking flowers for Tiny ♪

Tiny!

Would you come down here, please?

There's something I want to tell you!

- Why can't you just tell me from there?

- Please, Tiny? It's important!

- [exhales]

- I know you're sad, and that's okay,

but I just wanted to remind you that I love you.

- [gasps] Thanks, Shiny!

They're beautiful. [sniffs]

And they smell so good!

I love you too, sis. [both grunt]

It's really nice to be reminded that I'm loved.

I don't feel so sad anymore.

- Yay! I'm glad you're feeling better.

- [squawks] Maybe we could surprise

somebody else by showing them we love them?

We could do it together! - [gasps]

Ooh, that's a great idea! Who should we surprise?

- Mm, what about Buddy?

- [squawks] I love it!

And I bet he will, too.

[bright music]

both: Hey, Buddy!

- [yelps]

- Buddy, we have something for you!

- You do?

- Ready? both: Okay!

♪ Buddy, Buddy, he's the best ♪

♪ A T. Rex in a Pteranodon nest ♪

♪ He's always kind and never mean ♪

♪ The coolest T. Rex we've ever seen ♪

♪ We love him more than anything ♪

He's our brother, Buddy! - Wow!

Thanks, Shiny and Tiny.

That made me feel kind of awesome.

- Good, we just wanted to remind you that we love you.

- Aww, I love you, too, Shiny and Tiny.

[all grunt]

- Shiny did something nice for me,

and we thought it would be fun

to do something nice for somebody else.

- What a great idea!

Hey, let's do something nice for Don.

both: Okay. - But what could it be?

all: Hmm.

[bright music]

- Hello there, Mrs. Bug.

Are you going on an adventure? Huh?

- Hey, Don. Want to play Dinoball?

- [gasps] I love Dinoball!

You mean here, now? both: Yeah!

- We just wanted to spend some quality time with you.

- Ooh, ooh, I don't know what "quality time" is,

but it sure sounds like fun!

- It doesn't have to be Dinoball, though.

We can do whatever you want. - Yeah.

The point is just spending time together!

- Oh, no, no, no! I definitely want to play Dinoball.

But first, I want to see where Mrs. Bug is going.

Good-bye, Mrs. Bug!

I would invite you to play with us,

but you might get smushed.

Okay, now I'm ready for Dinoball.

[all clamoring]

- Tiny, Buddy, Tiny, anybody, I'm open.

Please give me the ball! all: Goal!

[laughter, heavy breathing]

- Turns out I really like quality time!

What a fun surprise.

Wait, uh, what was the surprise for again?

- To remind you that we love you.

- Oh, right! I love you, too.

Hey, I want to surprise somebody.

Who else can we surprise?

Ooh, ooh, ooh! We could surprise Tiny!

Oh, but wait. You're already here.

Hmm, that wouldn't be a surprise.

Ooh, I know! How about Mom and Dad?

- [squawks] Great idea, Don!

- What could we do to surprise Mom and Dad?

Give them flowers? - Write them a poem?

- Play Dinoball with them? - Ooh, I know.

Let's introduce them to Mrs. Bug!

- I don't know, none of those things

seems quite right for Mom and Dad.

- Maybe we could do some of the chores they always do.

So they can have a break? all: Yeah!

That's a great idea!

[triumphant music]

- Oh, wow.

That took a lot longer than I thought it would.

- [exhales] And there's still so much more work

to be done around here.

- Well, we better leave the rest of this for later

and get some fishing done while it's still light out, hon.

- Yes, I suppose you're right.

[both grunting]

- Wow, this place is a mess.

- [squawks] Okay, here's the plan.

Buddy and Shiny, you pick up sticks.

Tiny, you and I will be on leaf duty.

all: Aye, aye, captain!

- Mrs. Bug, you can do whatever you do best.

[bright music]

♪ ♪

- [exhales]

Something's different. - The clearing is clean.

All the leaves are swept and the sticks are picked up.

- Well, do you think it was the wind?

Or Larry? Did Larry eat all my leaves?

all: Surprise, it was us!

[laughter]

- Really, you kids did all of this?

- [chuckles] Got to admit, I wasn't looking forward

to clearing the clearing. Thanks for helping out, kids!

- Yes, thank you!

- We just wanted to remind you that we love you!

both: Aw, we love you, too!

- What made you think of it? - It was Don's idea!

- Well, I got the idea from Buddy.

- And I got the idea from Tiny.

- And I got the idea from Shiny.

- And I got the idea from you, Mom!

- You did? - Yeah!

You said when somebody is feeling sad,

sometimes all you can do is remind them that you love them.

So I wanted to remind Tiny that I love her.

- It really did make me feel better.

And then I felt even better doing all this!

Wait a minute, nobody showed any love for Shiny!

- That's okay, I already know how much I'm loved.

[whispering]

[bright music]

- Ready?

both: One, two, three!

both: Ta-da!

- [gasps] It's so pretty!

I love it! all: And we love you!

- What a nice day this was, kids.

We all got to feel love and give love.

- Yeah, today started out sad and ended up happy.

It's hard to feel sad when you remember

that somebody loves you.

- I'm glad I'm part of this ecosystem.

- Aww!

[giggling, chatter]

- Hey there, I'm Dr. Scott, the paleontologist,

and I'm in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

When fossils come out of the field,

they come to museums like this.

The first stop is the preparation lab,

where preparators carefully clean the fossils

and glue them back together.

But the next stop is this space,

the collections area.

And here in the collections area,

it isn't just a few shelves.

There are hundreds of shelves full of thousands of fossils

representing millions of years.

[upbeat music]

Tyrannosaur teeth, leaf fossils,

sauropod vertebra.

There are lots of dinosaurs down here,

including my favorite, kosmoceratops.

More horns than any other dinosaur!

There are many weird and wonderful fossils

in the collections area, like this.

A tail spike from an amazing Jurassic dinosaur.

Now, most of the fossils stay right here,

but a few of them make it up here,

into the fossil galleries, where everyone can enjoy them.

Those fossils we were looking at downstairs,

they belong to a very famous animal

with plates on its back and spikes on its tail:

Stegosaurus.

Okay, remember, get outside,

get into nature, and make your own discoveries.

- Hello, folks! It's me, the Conductor!

Today, the Pteranodon kids find out about

two different types of trees and many kinds of leaves!

So come on along with me on the Dinosaur Train!

All aboard!

[bright music]

- All aboard the Dinosaur Train!

- Whoa!

- Don, please move your game over.

- But I was just going for the gourd!

[laughs]

- [squawks]

[grunts]

- Huh? - Please move your game,

or I'll keep your gourd. - But--

- Now, let's all calm down, kids.

Gourd please, Shiny. Thanks.

Before you continue playing,

we have some work to do together.

It's our monthly Cleanup Day! - Right!

We need to tidy up our nest, our beach,

and the clearing by the woods. all: Huh?

- Okay, all wings, hands, beaks,

and stomping feet on deck!

[all groan]

- Come on, everyone to the nest.

- Remember, it's autumn now, which means

a lot of leaves are falling off their trees,

so we'll have to pick up more than usual.

- I like leaves. Bring them on!

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[softly] Psst, Buddy, Shiny, Tiny, come play.

I made a new game, "Dino-Gourd-Train"!

- [laughs] All a-gourd!

[laughs]

- Kids, first we clean up, then we play.

[both sigh]

Back to the nest, please.

- After the nest is cleaned up, we can move on

to the other places that need it.

- [mumbling] - No, sticks here, leaves here.

[all clamoring]

- Okay, kids, enough.

Please put the leaves and sticks on this side.

- Aww, I wish we could just go play. [sighs]

- Hmm, well, I'm not surprised.

- Uh-oh, do you think we're in trouble?

- Kids, I understand you wanting to play

more than helping clean up.

I felt like that when I was your age.

all: Really? - So can we just play

and not clean up, then? - No, Don.

I always ended up helping when I was a kid.

We're a family. We make messes together.

And we clean up together. - Um, wait, kids.

Before you clean up, I've got a problem.

[all gasp] - Um, I seem to have lost

my three favorite gourds somewhere around here.

[all gasp] - Oh, no!

Well, don't worry, hon.

I bet the kids can help you find them.

all: All right! - How can we help?

- Huh, well, you can all help me look for them.

[chuckles] How about if we make it a scavenger hunt

around the nest?

all: A scavenger hunt? Yeah!

- How does the scavenger hunt work?

- Okay, Dad and I will tell you a simple,

fill-in-the-blank riddle, and you kids

will figure out the missing word.

- Ooh, sounds like fun!

- The answer to the riddle will lead you to a certain location.

- And maybe we'll find gourds there?

- Maybe. - What happens

if we find all three gourds?

- You mean when we find all three gourds.

- Well, there may be a special treat.

- [squawks] Then let's start the gourd scavenger hunt!

all: Yeah!

- Okay, here's your first riddle.

A short flight away, right within reach...

- There's water, sand, and fishing, here at our...

- Hole! - Uh, no.

Um, think what rhymes with reach.

all: At our--

[all gasp] Beach!

- Oh, yeah. Makes sense. It's a better rhyme.

- [squawks] Let's go to the beach!

[bright music]

♪ ♪

- Ooh, ooh! Here's a gourd!

all: Hooray! - Gourd one has been found.

- And the beach is looking really tidy.

Here's your next riddle.

There's an open place, enjoyed by you all.

It has trees with leaves that today will...

all: Leaves that today will...

- Hole? - Is it "fall"?

both: Yes!

- Trees with falling leaves are

in the clearing up there. Let's go!

[laughs]

♪ ♪

- Okay, keep sweeping them into a pile

until we find Dad's gourd. - Yeah!

Let's make the biggest pile ever.

[wind howls] all: Hey, no!

- We're going to run out of leaves

for our biggest leaf pile ever!

- I don't think we'll run out of leaves, Don.

A bunch are still falling. - [squawks]

Like Dad said, it's autumn, so that's what happens.

- Hm, maybe we should call this time of year "fall"

because, you know, it's when the leaves fall.

- Fall? Don, that is the greatest idea ever!

- [laughs] - Oh, no!

Our leaves are blowing away!

- Come back! - No, stay here!

all: No!

- Hey, look. not all the leaves in the pile are the same kind.

- Yeah, some come in different shapes.

- And some are different colors.

- This one's got really thin, pointy leaves

that aren't falling off.

Hey, tree! Why don't your leaves fall off?

- One, two, three.

It looks like there are four different leaves here.

- Hey, what if each of us pick one kind of leaf,

and make our own piles?

See who can make the biggest!

I choose this leaf.

- [squawks] Good idea, Shiny!

Let's do it right after we all jump in this one big pile!

all: Pteranodon! - T. Rex!

[cheering]

[laughter]

- Okay, now let's divide up the leaves.

- And find Dad's second gourd.

[laughter]

[bright music]

- Great job noticing the differences

between the kinds of leaves, kids!

- Mm-hmm, very scientific.

And look, the place is pretty cleaned up.

- And now, we have four piles to jump in!

La-la-loo! - Don!

We just cleaned the place up.

- Mom and Dad, why are there different kinds of leaves?

And why do they even fall off?

- Yeah, why? - Very good questions.

- Well, you see, some trees, called deciduous trees,

change color, and their leaves fall off.

all: Deciduous trees.

- Cool, but why do their leaves fall off?

- Let me explain. Leaves are the way many trees

get their energy from the sun's rays.

They use their leaves to soak up sunshine.

But in autumn, when the temperature gets cooler,

and there's less sun-- both: The leaves fall off!

- But new leaves grow in the spring

when the sunshine is back to full.

- And the second kind of tree is called a coniferous tree.

- I remember that word! Conifers.

- Yep, their leaves look like thin needles.

They don't fall off every year. - Conifers store water better.

And since the tree is green all year round,

they're called evergreen.

- Now I know what's up with you and your leaves.

Way to hold onto them, Mr. The Evergreen.

La-la-loo! Ooh, ow! Ooh, ooh, ooh.

I landed on something hard. A big conifer cone?

Hey, that's not a cone. That's a gourd!

[cheering]

- The second gourd has been found.

One more to go!

[loud thuds]

[groovy music]

- Oh, thanks for the cleanup, Morris.

- It's my job. Clean-up guy.

- Okay kids, one more riddle. - Is the answer "hole"?

- You'll see? Ready?

This round-shaped place is the very best.

You sleep, eat, and play here. It's our...

all: Sleep, eat, and play here.

- [gasps] It's our nest. [squawks] Let's go!

- Wow, we're trying to find Dad's gourd,

but while we look for it,

the whole nest is getting clean.

- Yeah, and the clearing before that. [squawks]

- And the beach before that. - Hey, you know,

it's almost as if we were cleaning up

the whole place on purpose.

I thought we were just playing a scavenger hunt game.

- I think Mom and Dad made cleaning up into a game.

- And it worked. I knew you'd figure it out.

We're glad it was fun! - Yeah.

You did a great job. The whole place is clean.

- And now, we just have to find one more gourd.

- Hmm.

[gasps] Hey, here it is!

[grunts]

But it's stuck!

[all grunt]

Ta-da!

- Gourd number three! Found them all!

[cheering]

- So Dad, didn't you say something

about a special surprise treat? What is it?

- Hmm, to find out, you have to solve one more riddle.

Here goes.

We all know a creature with a really big brain.

He's easy to find on the-- all: Dinosaur Train!

The Conductor! - Oh, Mr. The Conductor!

- To the Dinosaur Train!

[cheering]

[cheerful music]

- Then Mom and Dad told us about the two kinds of trees.

They're, uh-- coniferous, and, um--

all: Deciduous! - Yeah!

Deciduous trees drop leaves. - Correct.

Oh my goodness. a scavenger hunt,

gourds, learning about leaves

from your very impressive teachers.

all: Yay, Mom and Dad! Whoo!

- Mr. and Mrs. P, you know so much.

Are you sure you're not Troodons?

[laughter] - No.

- Now, may I see the leaves you brought?

Ah, three leaves from deciduous trees.

Buddy's leaf comes from the ginkgo tree!

And Tiny's leaf is from the deciduous buckthorn tree!

And Miss Shiny's leaf is from a magnolia plant!

Oh, and Don, your needles

are from a coniferous tree. A conifer.

- That's the evergreen tree, Mr. The Conductor.

- Exactly, Mr. The Don!

Pteranodons, I am re-leaved-- [laughter]

That you know about the different trees and leaves.

It is beyond be-leaf!

[laughter]

Leaf--leaf-- you see what I did?

Anyway, now, I understand there's a surprise treat

for finding all of your dad's "lost gourds."

both: There is. all: Yeah!

- To the dining car!

- Presenting our autumn dining specials!

The fish-wich supreme, The carrion-kabob,

and the double-double leaf-burger!

all: Whoo-hoo! Thanks, Mr. Conductor!

- Behold the beauty of autumn's leafy colors.

all: Wow.

- Hi there, I'm Dr. Scott, the paleontologist,

and I'm here in the nature garden

at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

And I am surrounded by flowers.

[calm music]

Now, you might not know this, but flowers first appeared

during the Mesozoic era, the age of dinosaurs.

But they weren't there the whole time.

Back in the Jurassic time period,

stegosaurus never saw a flower.

Allosaurus never saw a single flower.

There were not flowers, but then, in the Cretaceous,

the first flowers appeared, and they were beautiful,

and they changed the world.

Plants form the basis of any ecosystem.

Plant-eating dinosaurs eat the plants,

meat-eating dinosaurs eat the plant-eating dinosaurs.

So it's those plants that keep the whole thing going.

Plants that capture energy from the sun.

So during the Cretaceous Time Period,

when flowering plants started

to take over the world, so to speak,

the dinosaurs changed with them.

And the dinosaurs started to eat all these flowering plants.

So the next time you're outside,

and you smell a flower-- [sniffs]

Or just look at their beautiful colors,

remember, the very first flowers appeared

during the age of dinosaurs.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[train whistle blows]