CALLING ALL SLEUTHS TO HELP FAVORITE STORYBOOK ENGINE SOLVE A MYSTERY ON THE TRACKS
Thomas the Tank Engine™ to visit: National Railroad Museum June 13-17, 2012
Green Bay, WI (June 6, 2012)—Help Thomas the Tank Engine™ find the clues and solve the mystery! Our favorite No. 1 engine is set to roll into Green Bay for the Day Out with Thomas™: Mystery On The Rails Tour 2012. All little engineers and their families are invited to take a ride on Thomas and participate in fun Thomas-themed activities. The event, which takes place June 13 – 17, 2012, will be hosted by the National Railroad Museum and presented by HIT Entertainment and sponsored by MEGA Brands, a leading toy company.
For 67 years, children have been captivated by the courageous adventures of Thomas and his engine friends. Pulling out of the station for its 17th consecutive ride on the rails, the Day Out With Thomas: Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012 will visit more than 45 cities in the United States and Canada. Day Out With Thomas is the only place for families to take a ride with a 15-ton replica of everybody’s favorite No. 1 engine, Thomas the Tank Engine, and enjoy Thomas-themed activities at the Imagination Station, including stamps, temporary tattoos and hands-on arts and crafts. Each year the tour grows, traveling to new destinations, adding new activities and welcoming new visitors.
Thomas the Tank Engine, star of Thomas & Friends™, on PBS KIDS® and Sprout® kicks off his Day Out With Thomas: Mystery On The Rails Tour 2012 in March and is expected to welcome more than one million passengers through November. During Day Out With Thomas, children will ride with Thomas against scenic backdrops while discovering some mysterious surprises! Day Out With Thomas 2012 activities include:
* A 25-minute (approximate) ride with Thomas the Tank Engine
* Games and activities featuring a mystery element
* The opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt™, Controller of the Railway
* A Thomas & Friends Imagination Station; featuring stamps temporary tattoos, hands-on arts & crafts, train tables, and coloring sheets
* Commemorative activities, merchandise and giveaways including a special reveal poster previewing new engines and a new destination from the upcoming 2012 Thomas & Friends feature, “Blue Mountain Mystery”
* Storytelling, video viewing and live music
The tour provides a unique, interactive family experience at every station, offering a variety of entertaining activities that reflect the local flavor of each stop. At the National Railroad Museum activities will include:
* Exploring the world’s largest steam locomotive – the Union Pacific Big Boy – and 50 other historic railcars.
* The big train bean bag toss
* Making sand castles in the giant sand box
* Bouncing your way through two inflatable attractions
* Assembling some of the biggest puzzles you have ever seen!
* Finding your way through the hay bale maze
* Misting and bubble fun area
* And, climbing around a ginormous play fort
The approximately 25-minute train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine will depart every 45 minutes, rain or shine, with departure times at 9:15 am through 4:45 pm each day of the event. Tickets for the Day Out With Thomas: Mystery On The Rails Tour 2012 are $18 plus tax for ages two and up.
Tickets are on sale now by calling toll-free 866.468.7630 or logging onto http://www.ticketweb.com/thomas.html. For more information and directions, contact the National Railroad Museum at (920) 437-7623 or log onto http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org.
For general information or to find a Day Out With Thomas: Mystery On The Rails Tour 2012 event near you, visit http://www.thomasandfriends.com/dowt.
For media use only: For high-resolution artwork or additional information please go to http://www.hitnewsonline.com and select Day Out With Thomas: Mystery On The Rails Tour 2012 Artwork.
About The National Railroad Museum
Founded in 1956, the National Railroad Museum marked 50 years of preserving America’s railroad heritage in 2006. The Museum works to foster an understanding of railroading and its significance to American life. Visiting the National Railroad Museum offers you an opportunity to explore our railroad heritage. Sit in the cab of the Union Pacific Big Boy, the world’s largest steam locomotive. View Gen. Eisenhower’s World War II command train. Examine the future of railroading in the sleek 1955 General Motors Aerotrain. The Museum is one of the oldest and largest institutions of its kind in the U.S.
The National Railroad Museum is the original U.S. site to host a Day Out with Thomas™ event. Thomas the Tank Engine first visited the Museum in 1994.
About Thomas & Friends™
Thomas the Tank Engine was created by a father for his son over 65 years ago and today is enjoyed by families in more than 185 territories and in 30 languages. The #1 blue engine and his friends invite children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story. Children embark on adventures with their engine friends while experiencing timeless life lessons of discovery, friendship and cooperation. Thomas & Friends makes tracks to great destinations on PBS KIDS®, Sprout® and with downloadable episodes available through iTunes. For more information about the world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, please visit http://www.thomasandfriends.com. Follow Thomas on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thomasandfriends and Twitter @TrueBlueEngine.
About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes properties, such as Thomas & Friends™, Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Fireman Sam™, Angelina Ballerina™, Mike the Knight™, Pingu™ and Rainbow Magic™. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. HIT is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, Sprout®. For more information, visit http://www.hitentertainment.com.
