Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails! Opens at National Children’s Museum

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 3, 2025) – All aboard! National Children’s Museum is excited to announce the return of the world’s most beloved #1 blue engine to their Visiting Exhibit Hall this fall. From September 20, 2025, through January 4, 2026, Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails! invites guests to explore the whimsical Island of Sodor as they play their way through interactive experiences inspired by the popular animated series featuring Thomas the Tank Engine and his locomotive friends.

With its colorful backdrops, familiar destinations, friendly faces, and large-scale engines, Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails! incorporates foundational STEM practices that encourage thinking mathematically, making comparisons, experimenting to solve problems using a variety of methods and tools, thinking creatively, and reflecting on actions and results. From Knapford Station to the Sodor Steamworks, little engineers find themselves in immersive environments where they help Thomas and his friends solve a variety of challenges, from a simple sorting and shape identification activity to more complex engineering obstacles, such as completing a train track using track pieces with different levels of elevation.

The Island of Sodor is full of hands-on experiences where little engineers can roll up their sleeves and have fun:

• All Aboard Thomas: climb into the cab and explore the inner workings of a train’s engine
• Knapford Station: suit up in a conductor’s uniform as you operate a ticket booth, fix clocks based on train schedules, and sort freight
• Steamworks: help Victor manage the engines by fixing Percy’s wobbly wheel, exploring engineering tools, and working together to source coal and water
• Tot Spot: with its green hills and blue skies, this semi-enclosed space features a tactile “busy wall” designed for toddlers
• Sodor Train Table: explore the entire island, discover missions, and take on challenges with this interactive train table
• Thomas & Friends retrospective: caregivers can share the world of Thomas with their little ones as they explore models, books, toys, and media from throughout the years

Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails! is targeted toward children ages 2 to 7 and their families, and is included in the cost of Museum admission. Tickets to the Museum are $18.95 for adults and children 1 and older and are free for children under 1 and Museum members.

Special Media Event — Friday, September 26, 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Members of the press interested in a firsthand experience of the exhibit are invited to a special, after-hours media viewing on Friday, September 26, from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Coinciding with our members-only PJs + Play night, this is an optimal time to experience the exhibit during a quieter playtime.

Located at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW off the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, National Children’s Museum is open 9:30 am – 4:30 pm every day except Tuesdays.

© 2025 Gullane (Thomas) Limited. Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails! was created by Minnesota Children’s Museum, presented by Mattel.

This exhibit is locally sponsored by BNSF Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific Railroad, Wabtec Corporation, and Events DC.

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About National Children’s Museum
A playful learning adventure awaits! National Children’s Museum is a unique hybrid institution in downtown Washington, D.C., that combines learning elements found in a science center with children’s museum experiences. Through play-based science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) exhibits and programs, the Museum sparks curiosity and ignites creativity for children under the age of twelve and their families. Founded in 1974, the Museum has served Washingtonians for five decades, and since reopening its new location in September 2021, the Museum has established itself as an international destination for play, welcoming more than 751,000 visitors across all eight wards, 50 states, and more than 75 countries. Learn more on how to visit the Museum and engage with virtual STEAM resources at nationalchildrensmuseum.org.

About Minnesota Children’s Museum
As the nation’s leading developer of traveling children’s museum exhibits, the Minnesota Children’s Museum is a trailblazer in creating immersive learning environments, reaching more than 15 million children and adults in the United States, Canada and Mexico through the nation’s largest collection of children’s traveling exhibits. The Museum is consistently rates as one of the top children’s museums in the country by national media outlets like Forbes and Parents and was recently names as a finalist for an Institute of Museum and Library Services Medal of Service, the nation’s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries.

About Mattel
Mattel is a global learning, development and play company that inspires the next generation of kids to shape a brighter tomorrow. Through our portfolio of iconic consumer brands, including American Girl®, Barbie®, Fisher-Price®, Hot Wheels® and Thomas & Friends®, we create systems of play, content and experiences that help kids unlock their full potential. Mattel also creates inspiring and innovative products in collaboration with leading entertainment and technology companies as well as other partners. With a global workforce of approximately 28,000 people, Mattel operates in 40 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations. Visit us online at www.mattel.com.