Common Sense Media Review
By Jenny Bristol
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Preschool fun in Jurassic, Triassic, and Cretaceous eras.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Dinosaur Train Eggspress
What's It About?
Like the Dinosaur Train PBS show, this app takes kids on a ride on the Dinosaur Train to learn about dinosaurs. Kids will find eggs hidden behind bushes by rubbing their finger around on the screen to earn a mystery egg that introduces them to a dinosaur and gives facts about that dinosaur and adds the picture to the dinosaur baby book. Then kids match colors and patterns to earn another mystery egg and baby for their book. Finally, they'll match a mama dinosaur to her egg based on a description of the dinosaur.
Is It Any Good?
DINOSAUR TRAIN EGGSPRESS is a quality preschool learning activity. The game, like the television show, teaches dinosaur-related facts with excellent animation. Kids learn about dinosaurs in three different eras, including the dinosaurs' long names, some of their important features, and other details. They also can collect pictures of the dinosaurs from the Dinosaur Baby Book at the end of the game. For any young kid who loves dinosaurs, this game is a definite winner.
There are a few drawbacks. There are two parts of the game that make it slightly more difficult to play. First, there is no way to pause the game. And while it is a fairly short game, you still might want to pause it. Second, for each round you play, it tells you to hurry and finish before the train leaves the station, but with no timer or progress bar, you don't know when that will be. It adds unnecessary time pressure to an otherwise preschool-friendly game.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Visit a natural history museum or check out a dinosaur book at the library to see dinosaur fossils and read together about the types of dinosaurs and prehistoric time periods.
Identify other animals that hatch from eggs.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Science : animals , Language & Reading : following directions , using supporting evidence
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : analyzing evidence , applying information , deduction , problem solving , thinking critically
- Pricing structure :
- Release date : December 4, 2010
- Genre : Educational Games
- Topics : Animals ( Dinosaurs )
- Publisher : PBS KIDS
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.3 or later
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate