Giveaway Alert! Thomas & Friends pulls into the Discovery Science Center for a visit!

 GIVEAWAY ALERT!

THOMAS & FRIENDS: EXPLORE THE RAILS EXHIBIT AT

THE DISCOVERY CUBE ORANGE COUNTY!

Let’s play name that tune!  Can you name the following popular children’s show theme song?  Ready, set, go!

They’re two they’re four they’re six and
eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they’re the really useful crew
All with different roles to play
Round Tidmouth sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and his friends
Thomas he’s the cheeky one
James is vain but lots of fun
Percy pulls the mail on time
Gordon thunders down the line
Emily really knows her stuff
Henry toots and huffs and puffs
Edward wants to help and share
Toby, well let’s say, he’s square
They’re two they’re four they’re six and eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they’re the really useful crew
All with different roles to play
Round tidmouth shed or far away
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and his friends
They’re two they’re four they’re six and eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they’re the really useful crew
All with different roles to play
Round tidmouth shed or far away
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and his friends

If you named Thomas & Friends, then you are absolutely right!  You probably also have one of THESE in your house – a little train enthusiast!  This is a picture of Field Trip Boy when he was 2 years old playing with his trains and loving every moment with of it.  When he was little we allowed him to watch two Thomas and Friends episodes a day, plus one extra episode if he had a friend over.  He was and still is a big fan of Thomas & Friends!

When the news hit that the Discovery Cube Orange County in Santa Ana (another one of our favorite places to play in the OC) was hosting the world’s most beloved blue engine just in time for the holiday season, we were ecstatic!  We cleared our calendars and plan to go this weekend.

Thomas & Friends®: Explore the Rails is an interactive, hands-on exhibit, and is locally sponsored by PBS SoCal.  The exhibit is set to run through January 4, 2015.

Featuring the favorite engines and destinations from Thomas & Friends, the STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) – focused exhibit seeks to engage children and families in foundational skills that foster STEM literacy through playful learning experiences.  The exhibit incorporates foundational STEM practices that encourage thinking mathematically, making comparisons, experimenting to solve problems using a variety of methods and tools, thinking creatively and reflecting on actions and results.

Visitors to the 1500 square foot exhibit will be delighted as they find themselves surrounded by the Island of Sodor’s iconic locations: Knapford Station, Sodor Steamworks and much more. In the exhibit, children help Thomas and his friends solve a variety of challenges, from a simple sorting and shape identification activity to more complex engineering obstacles, such as completing a train track using track pieces with different levels of elevation. As children confront new challenges and test their abilities, the smiling faces of Thomas, Percy, Victor and others are there to offer encouragement and remind children how “really useful” they all are.

Inside the Exhibit:

• Climb into Thomas’ cab and explore the engine’s inner workings. Flip levers and investigate other moveable parts that trigger train noises such as braking, whistles and steam.
• Fix Percy’s wobbly wheel by removing and replacing parts and experimenting to find a combination of wheels, rods and bolts that work.
• Explore the favorite Island of Sodor destinations including: Tidmouth Sheds, Brendam Docks and the Sodor Search & Rescue Station on an over-sized Thomas Wooden Railway train table.
• Work with old and new friends loading luggage, livestock and other freight into the coaches of two train cars.
• Collaborate with others to get Percy moving by loading coal into his coal box and filling his tank with water from a water tower.
• Suit up as the conductor to exchange money and sell tickets to other visitors taking a ride on the train.
• Wander through a Thomas & Friends retrospective featuring model engines from the original live action series produced in London, copies of the original drawings and manuscripts from the Rev. W. Awdry, the creator of Thomas & Friends, and a collection of memorabilia documenting the history and evolution of Thomas & Friends through books, television, and toys.

And here’s the best news of all!  Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails is included with general admission fees!

General admission prices are as follows: adult ($16.95), senior ($12.95), and children ages 3-14 ($12.95).  Tickets can be purchased at Discovery Cube Orange County or online at www.discoverycube.org/oc.  

BONUS TIP:  Check out Orange County’s local parenting magazines or the mailers you get in the mail, because I see discounts to the Discovery Cube Orange County in them all the time!

The Discovery Cube Orange County is also hosting a GIVEAWAY on SoCal Field Trips for a FAMILY FOUR PACK OF TICKETS to see the new Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails exhibit!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

See you this weekend at The Discovery Cube Orange County!

Happy Field Tripping,

Jilleen

Disclosure:  SoCal Field Trips was invited to a media event to help facilitate this post.  All images used by permission from the DSC.  For giveaway rules and details, please see the Rafflecopter link above.