Have you ever wondered why kids are so enthralled with dinosaurs?
R O A R ! ! !
As any proud parent will attest to, kids as young as TWO years of age have been able to correctly identify a tyrannosaurus!
And older kids will organize backyard digs for dinosaur bones and beg to visit dinosaur exhibits at local natural history museums.
So what is behind kids’ fascination with dinosaurs?
Freelance writer and book author Bob Strauss pondered this question for About.com and came up with some pretty solid explanations!!
· For starters, he believes kids like dinosaurs because the huge, dangerous creatures are extinct, so kids know that dinosaurs are not a threat.
· He also believe that dinosaurs are also role models for kids because dinosaurs are big and nobody tells them what to do – the exact opposite of a kid, who is small and is always being told how to behave.
· Kids also like the size and scope of dinosaur skeletons, definitely a cool factor!
· And they also like the possibility that, like Matt Larson, a paleontologist for the Black Hills Institute of Geologic Research, they too might be able to someday discover dinosaur fossils – as he did just this summer in the plains of northeast Wyoming!
It’s time for you and your kids to join in the prehistoric fun with Dino Dan, the award-winning live-action, CGI adventure series airing nightly on Nick Junior at 5p.m. (ET), which stars 18 true-to-life, photo-real dinosaurs alongside Jason Spevack (Fever Pitch; Sunshine Cleaning) as Dan “Dino Dan” Henderson. Available on DVD from NCircle Entertainment, Dino Dan, was created by Sinking Ship Entertainment.
Dino Dan is an ordinary 10-year old boy with an extraordinary obsession: he eats, sleeps and breathes dinosaurs. A typical day for Dan isn’t complete unless he’s racing a T-Rex on his school track, finding a Pterodactylus in his attic or getting a baby Brachiosaurus back to its mom. But kids don’t need to imagine dinosaurs because in Dino Dan, dinosaurs lurk around every corner, they're behind every mystery, they fuel every adventure, and they help answer questions, too!
Dino Dan also specializes in getting his contrasting crew of classmates and teachers engaged in his larger-than-life adventures. Not only are Dino Dan's adventures incredibly fun, they're also incredibly educational, as each episode centers around a common kid issue like having to play with your little brother, going to the dentist, or trying to win at hide 'n' seek. These, naturally, lead Dan to wonder how the dinosaurs would act in a similar situation.
As Dino Dan comes up with a dino question or experiment to test his theories, he’s also teaching kids about science. If his first theory proves false, Dan comes up with a partial answer or discovers new information to help him resolve the question. Then Dan discovers a new way of tackling the experiment and the problem is resolved. And since the dinos in Dino Dan don't speak, high-five, or use deductive reasoning, Dan and his pals work with the dinos' instincts as part of their scientific method for proving theories.
Dino Dan DVDs are now available in a special 4-pack through NCircle Entertainment beginning September 24, 2013. With a suggested retail price of $24.99 for four DVDs – Ready, Set, DINO!; Dino Trackers; To Catch a Dino! and Cretaceous Creatures! – the Dino Dan 4-pack also includes a bonus augmented reality feature on the DVD package that, when the code is scanned, brings dinosaurs to life! The four-pack is available at Target stores nationwide from September 24.
To celebrate the release , NCircle Entertainment is having us give away a Dino Dan special 4-pack DVD Set
To Enter Click HERE
I have to admit I was late to the DinoDan craze, These DVD were the first we have seen but now I know why all the moms on the playground talk about what a great show it is. The DVD's are really creative and teach the kids about dinosaurs in a new a way and show them different ways to think about them and learn. I was very impressed and the boys just loved them.
And the fun doesn’t stop there! Fans of Dino Dan can visit the dedicated Dino Dan website at http://dinodan.com/ to enjoy a number of fun and engaging online games including an interactive Dig Site, fun Dino Facts, information about Dino Dan’s friends and even download Dino Dan apps. Dino Dan fans can also visit the Dino Dan Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dinodantv.
Nick Jr. also has a Dino Dan website, http://www.nickjr.com/dino-dan/, offering everything to entertain your budding paleontologists, including downloadable prehistoric printables for coloring to engaging dinosaur games and crafty Cretaceous creations including instructions for creating your own dino 3D mobile, a Dino Dan's dinosaur nest and even Dino Dan binoculars. The Nick Jr. site also has recipes for fun Mesozoic Meals like giant dinosaur track cookies and there’s even a dinosaur Fun Facts for Parents which includes a pronunciation guide for dinosaur names like Euoplocephalus! 
