HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

Day Out With Thomas™ 2008: The Great Discovery Tour Pulling Into the National Railroad Museum

Thomas the Tank Engine™ to visit the National Railroad Museum June 11 - 15, 2008

04/18/2008

Ashwaubenon (Green Bay, Wis.)

Peep! Peep! Thomas the Tank Engine is set to roll into Green Bay for the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour. The event, which takes place June 11 - 15, 2008, will be hosted by the National Railroad Museum (2285 S. Broadway; www.nationalrrmuseum.org) and presented by HIT Entertainment and sponsored by the LEGO Group.

For more than six decades, children have been captivated with the tales of Thomas the Tank Engine. Pulling out of the station for its 13th consecutive ride on the rails, the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour 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 #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 PBS KIDS SproutSM will be kicking off his Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour in March and is expected to welcome more than 1 million passengers through December. During the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour, children will be provided with a "Great Discovery Tour Map," that guides them through the various event activities. At the last stop, each child will receive a free gift. Activities include:

• A 25-minute (approximate) ride with Thomas the Tank Engine
• The opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt™, Controller of the Railway
• A Thomas & Friends Imagination Station; featuring stamps, temporary tattoos, hands-on arts and crafts activities and coloring sheets.
• 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:

• Explore the world's largest steam locomotive - the Union Pacific Big Boy - and 65 other pieces of historic railroad equipment.
• Experience a huge operating model railroads.
• Make a sand castle in the giant sand box
• Bounce your way through two inflatable attractions.
• Ride an authentic railroad handcart
• Assemble some of the biggest puzzles you'll ever see

The approximately 25-minute train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine will depart every 45 minutes, rain or shine. The first departure is at 9:15 a.m. daily. The last train leaves the station at 4:45 p.m. daily.

Tickets for the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour are $18.00 for ages two and up. Tickets are on sale now by calling toll-free 866.468.7630 or logging onto www.ticketweb.com/thomas. For more information and directions contact the National Railroad Museum at (920) 437-7623 or www.nationalrrmuseum.org.

For general information or to find a Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour event near
you, visit www.thomasandfriends.com.

For media use only: For high-resolution downloadable artwork or additional information please go to
www.hitnewsonline.com select Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour Artwork.

About The National Railroad Museum
Founded in 1956, the National Railroad Museum has been preserving America's railroad heritage for over 50 years. Visiting the National Railroad Museum offers you an opportunity to explore America's 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.

About Thomas & Friends

Thomas & Friends invites children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story. Thomas the Tank Engine was created by a father for his son more than 60 years ago. Today, families in more than 145 countries enjoy fun and adventure with their engine friends while experiencing timeless life lessons of discovery, friendship and cooperation. Thomas & Friends is making tracks to great destinations on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS Sprout℠. For more information about the world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, please visit www.thomasandfriends.com.

About HIT Entertainment

HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners since June 2005, is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes internationally renowned children’s properties, such as Bob the Builder™, Barney™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Rubbadubbers™ and Angelina Ballerina™. HIT acts as a representative for The Wiggles® in the UK, US and Canada and as worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company’s library of classic family brands, including Fraggle Rock™. HIT also owns the Guinness World Records™ publishing and television property and Fireman Sam™, a joint venture with S4C. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalog of more than 1,000 hours of young children’s programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS Sprout℠, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.