After Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don learn that it's Mr. Conductor's birthday, they decide to throw him a surprise party in his favorite place - the Dinosaur Train! The whole family plans the party, secretly riding the Rocket Train to pick up friends from all around the Mesozoic and 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 Cloudy Point Station where the kids play a cloud-spotting game, identifying the three types of clouds they learned about: cirrus, stratus, and cumulus. In the end, a rainstorm certainly proves that clouds are made of water!

The Pteranodon family is super excited to be traveling to the "Classic in the Jurassic," an Olympic-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 to get him 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 carrion dishes. Buddy's tummy is happily full when our family leaves to head home. They even bring back a snack for Mr. Conductor!

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 of his "sibling" butterflies fly around until suddenly they disappear, leaving Dan all alone. Don feels for the separated butterfly and vows to re-unite him with his siblings. After Mom and Dad give a quick lesson about butterfly camouflage, Don leads his own 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 a frog) are nearby. The long search doesn't yield the missing butterflies. Then, at the end of the day, our family is amazed when Dan's family reveals that it had been camouflaged in a flower headband!

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 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 large, floating leaf "home."The Pteranodon family rides the "Night Train" all the way back to the Jurassic Period 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 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!

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 young 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 train's performance, the three Conductors, along with the help of Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don, race the Dinosaur Train, Thurston's Rocket Train and Tricia's new Solar Train to the Triassic!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 birdwatching/drawing day as all three birds are delighted to show off their unique feathers.

The "Classic in the Jurassic" games are back, and this time, it's the Ultimate Smackdown. Mr. Conductor explains the "wrestling" matchups 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 that Riojasaurus may be smaller, but he has a powerful tail and speed on his side. Then Boris the T. Rex loses to Trevor Triceratops. Tank and Buddy are thrilled-what a face-off! Once the judges tally the results, Team Cretaceous is declared the winner, and the fans love it!Buddy and Tiny wonder 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 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 Period, the time period immediately before the Triassic. There, they meet Deon Dimetrodon, who has never met a dinosaur or pterosaur before. Buddy and Tiny are amazed to learn that there are neither of these in the Permian Period (or earlier)! Deon marvels at our family's features - especially Tiny and Mrs. Pteranodon's wings. Deon shows our group around the hot and humid Permian, and he explains how his sail fin keeps him cool. Then Deon is delighted to experience the Mesozioc Era. He walks through the Pedestrian Time Tunnel with our group, and is blown away by the vegetation and the variety and size of dinosaurs. Another lifelong friendship is forged!

Derek the Deinonychus - Buddy, Tiny and Mom visit a family of Deinonychus, dinosaurs with large, sharp toe-claws. They meet a kid named Derek who uses his toe-claws to not only hunt with but to carve great art!Don's Dragonfly - Don makes a new friend with red feet, a dragonfly named Howard.

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 experience a spectacular Zeppelin ride! The Queztalcoatluses fly alongside, impressing everyone with their flying abilities. After learning more about waterfalls, the Pteranodons catch lots of fish and dine before heading back to the Train via the one-of-a-kind Dinosaur Train Zeppelin!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, Mom, Dad and the Conductor learn all about Polycotylus migration and the reptile features. Then the whole group of new friends enjoys a fishpicnic on the reef of the atoll before the Pteranodon clan heads back home in the Zeppelin.

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 Pteranodons up in the Zeppelin and through a Sky Time Tunnel, back to the time of Pangaea. At the Zeppelin Station, they meet up with Tricia Troodon, who helps pilot the Zeppelin on their journey. Once in the sky and through the time tunnel, our family is able to see Pangaea, the one giant landmass, just as it's starting to break apart. Then the family travels forward in time and views the continents separating more as oceans and seas move in between the land. Looking down at how their coastline looks in the Cretaceous Period, Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don all agree that seeing Pangaea breaking apart is one of the coolest things they've ever seen!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 the Conductor takes the Pteranodon Family up in the Zeppelin to see a giant crater from above! On the ground, they explore the crater and find fragments of "space rocks" from the former asteroid. As evening falls and our family flies back home, the Conductor and Mom and Dad surprise the kids with a picnic dinner on the Zeppelin-hurrah!

When the Pteranodon family travels back to the North Pole, Don declares that it's his "winter wish" to see snow fall again. When a big blizzard comes, and even the Dinosaur Train gets snowed in, Don worries that his wish brought the blizzard. He's especially worried for his new friend, Soren Sauronitholestes, who is sitting on a nest of her eggs, out in the blizzard. But everything turns out all right: Dad explains that wishing for something doesn't make it happen, and the well-adapted, warm-blooded, feather-covered Soren successfully hatches her babies.While visiting the North Pole, the Conductor suggests that the family stop off at Aurora Borealis Station on an enormous frozen lake to see the Aurora Borealis, where the Northern Troodons celebrate a "Festival of Lights." While the kids wait for night to fall and view the Aurora Borealis, they work up an ice-skating show to entertain Mom and Dad. Everyone joins in to sing "Solstice Time is Here" and skate under the lights!

Dinosaurs in the Snow - Buddy and his Pteranodon family ride the Dinosaur Train to the North Pole - where it's cooler out and the skies are dark all winter long! The kids get to play in the snow and slide on a frozen pond for the first time.Cretaceous Conifers - The whole Pteranodon family have fun celebrating Mom's favorite holiday, Winter Solstice. They learn about large conifer (evergreen) trees and help decorate them at a holiday party.

Dinosaurs in the Snow - Buddy and his Pteranodon family ride the Dinosaur Train to the North Pole - where it's cooler out and the skies are dark all winter long! The kids get to play in the snow and slide on a frozen pond for the first time.Cretaceous Conifers - The whole Pteranodon family have fun celebrating Mom's favorite holiday, Winter Solstice. They learn about large conifer (evergreen) trees and help decorate them at a holiday party.

When Mr. Pteranodon and Larry go out to the Big Pond to find some red platanoids for the Winter Solstice Celebration, they accidentally miss the last train home. Will Larry and Mr. Pteranodon stop bickering long enough to figure out a way home, or will they get stranded in the middle of nowhere and miss the family Winter Solstice Celebration? Educational Objective: The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year.

When the Pteranodon family travels back to the North Pole, Don declares that it's his "winter wish" to see snow fall again. When a big blizzard comes, and even the Dinosaur Train gets snowed in, Don worries that his wish brought the blizzard. He's especially worried for his new friend, Soren Sauronitholestes, who is sitting on a nest of her eggs, out in the blizzard. But everything turns out all right: Dad explains that wishing for something doesn't make it happen, and the well-adapted, warm-blooded, feather-covered Soren successfully hatches her babies.While visiting the North Pole, the Conductor suggests that the family stop off at Aurora Borealis Station on an enormous frozen lake to see the Aurora Borealis, where the Northern Troodons celebrate a "Festival of Lights." While the kids wait for night to fall and view the Aurora Borealis, they work up an ice-skating show to entertain Mom and Dad. Everyone joins in to sing "Solstice Time is Here" and skate under the lights!

The Theropod Club - Buddy's Theropod Club meets with other dinosaurs that walk on two legs, eat meat, and have three toed feet. But Tiny feels left out until the Club invites her to join too!Surprise Party - Shiny, Tiny and Don throw a surprise party for Buddy on the Dinosaur Train and invite a whole caboose full of his friends!