Many kids (and adults) are fascinated by trains and we’re on board too!
Trains are complex engineering marvels on a massive scale. America has a rich history of train transit starting in the 1800s with goods and materials of all sorts being transported by freight, and people making long-distance journeys aboard passenger cars. Now, those early steam locomotives have made way for today’s high-tech electric trains.
Whether it’s a renewed interest in historic railways close to home in Tupper Lake, New York, or learning about the technology behind state-of-the-art digital railway systems in London, England, train travel continues to captivate our imaginations. Scientists, engineers, and communities across the world are also looking at how trains can be an environmentally friendly mode of public transportation. They might be just the ticket to helping reduce the number of cars on the road and the carbon emissions they release.
Learn more about how trains work, as well as their historic past and technological future, with the videos, activities, and games below!
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Let’s Learn About Trains!
Dinosaur Discoveries: Trains | Dinosaur Train
Grades PreK-K
Dr. Scott joins a train conductor to learn about trains. The conductor teaches us what train tracks are made of and about the many different types of train cars, including a caboose, a passenger car, and an engine.
Let’s Play Train! | Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
Grades PreK-K
Daniel and Katerina are playing train with an engine, the cars, and the caboose. Daniel imagines that he is a real train engineer. Teach kids to use a variety of resources and their imaginations to create a pretend world!
The Caboose | FIND Iowa
Grades K-5
The caboose was the red car at the end of the train and housed the crew. Let’s learn what happened to the caboose.
Railroad Safety collection
Grades K-5
The Railroad Safety collection provides public safety awareness and simple rules to stay safe around trains and train tracks. This collection includes a variety of videos and an educational toolkit complete with activities, discussion questions, and more.
The History and Future of Trains
Railroad Passenger Trains | FIND Iowa
Grades K-5
Many Americans traveled by passenger train in the early 1900s. Let’s learn what it was like to travel on a passenger train.
Railroad Museum | Outdoor Nevada
Grades 3-5
The Nevada Southern Railroad and the Boulder City Depot were built in the 1930s to bring supplies to the construction site of the Hoover Dam.
Who Killed the Red Car: Rail Systems of Then and Now | Lost LA
Grades 3-12
Los Angeles is known for its freeways and traffic jams, but it once was home to one of the greatest rail transit systems in the nation: the Pacific Electric Red Cars. Explore forgotten subway tunnels, compare historical photographs, and consider what led to this rail system’s demise. Then, look at the future of public transportation in Los Angeles with new projects signifying the story of rail in Southern California is far from over.
Grand Central – Primary Resources: 20th Century Limited Streamliner Debuts, 1938
Grades 9-12
In June 1938, the New York Central Railroad introduced new locomotives and Pullman cars. Learn how these advances affected New York-Chicago transit, with these primary sources from American Experience: Grand Central.
Engineering Software for a Train System | NOVA
Grades 9-12
Learn about developing and testing the software that runs a digital railway system with this video excerpt from NOVA: London Super Tunnel. Use this resource to provide students with opportunities to consider the criteria and constraints of the railway project software and to consider benefits of using models in software engineering.
Activities, Books & More!
Train Station Game | Curious George
Grades PreK-K
George is playing with his train set. Can you help him build trains to be the right length?
Track Stars Game | Dinosaur Train
Grades PreK-K
Use geometric shapes to build train cars, decorate your train, add passengers, and watch it drive down the track!
Tunnels, Roads and Cardboard Caves Playset
Grades PreK-3
Turn a cardboard box into a playset full of train tunnels, roads and caves.
Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express | Reading Rainbow Stories
Grades K-5
Celebrate bravery with the story Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express, about a young woman who risks her life to prevent a disaster. Then get an up-close look at a locomotive with LeVar Burton and meet an Amtrak engineer who shares why she enjoys her job.
Magnetic Train Engineering Design Challenge
Grades 3-5
Use the engineering design process to create a magnetic train!