SANTA ANA, Calif. — The world’s most beloved blue engine rolls into Discovery Cube Los Angeles on January 24, 2015. Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails is an interactive, hands-on exhibit, and is locally sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad, Kinkisharyo, Metrolink and BNSF Railway, with a local media sponsor of PBS SoCal. The exhibit is set to run through April 26, 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.

The Thomas & Friends exhibit was designed and developed by Minnesota Children’s Museum in partnership with HIT Entertainment, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. The national tour is sponsored by 3M. PBS SoCal is the local media sponsor for the exhibit and the television home for Thomas & Friends. PBS SoCaL is excited that their PBS show is being brought to life by this dynamic exhibit for Thomas & Friends’ fans across Southern California.

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