Family : Videos Show Inquisitive Kids How Some Things Work

“How does it work?” is a question that nails every parent at some time or other. If it’s applied to large, big-wheeled machinery or power tools, some recent videos can help fill in any blanks:

“Railroaders,” Big Kids Productions’ latest release in its “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” series, is an entertaining, detailed look at trains--how they work and what they do--for ages 3 and up.

In the live-action video, three young children are offered the train ride of their dreams. Jacob checks out the steam engine, Armando’s choice is a freight train where he watches hopper cars load and unload their cargo and Allison is given the royal treatment on an Amtrak passenger train. Old-time film footage, a little historical perspective and musical renditions of “Casey Jones,” “John Henry” and other traditional railroad songs round out the adventure.

All the actors speak their lines with an overly upbeat, Barney-like cheerfulness, but when Engineer Bill says, “pretty neat, huh?” even adults will find it hard not to agree. 30 min. $15.95. (800) 477-7811.

For train fanatics of any age, look for “Up 3985 Over Cajon,” from railroading video specialist Pentrex. The lengthy film follows the route of the largest operating steam engine in the world with no-nonsense narration, no entertainment frills for kids and no music--just the sight and sound of the big train as it winds its way through the Cajon pass from Ontario to Barstow. 75 min. $29.95. (800) 950-9333.

In Will Schreiner’s “Garbage Day,” from ChildVision Educational Films, a little boy and his dad go on a trash-collecting odyssey led by Gus, the garbage man. It begins at the truck depot in the wee hours of the morning and ends at the landfills and recycling centers where an eye-opening number of tons of waste are processed and dumped each day.

An assortment of trucks with manual and automatic machinery handle everything from the usual neighborhood leavings to the biggest industrial dumpsters. Cans, paper, plastic and glass are sorted at a recycling center; vast mountains of garbage are unloaded, flattened and buried in a landfill that later “we’ll turn into a park.”

The video can satisfy inquiring young minds’ desire to know about garbage trucks and then parents can use it as a springboard for a discussion on environmental responsibility. 30 min. $14.95. (800) 488-1913.

“I Can Build,” from CanToo! Tapes for ages 2 to 8, follows the progress of a back-yard playhouse, from design through construction. Mom, dad, big sister and little brother shop for materials at the hardware store, then hammer, saw and paint, showing children that even they can participate in a complicated task. And, parents can see how involving children in a family project can empower them.

Live action is combined with nifty computer animation segments showing the step-by-step construction. As a how-it’s-done and a how-to primer, it’s terrific. The only drawback: When they see the finished product, young viewers may yearn for their own dream playhouse, but not all back yards or budgets are big enough, nor are all parents quite so adept and well-supplied with power tools to make that dream come true. 25 min. $19.95. (800) 945-1002.

Picture This: Photographs by children living in a homeless shelter will be on exhibit in “My World: A Child’s View of Homelessness,” at the Los Angeles Children’s Museum through October. The photos were taken by children ages 4 to 15 as part of Photo Outreach, a pilot program working with the Trudy and Norman Louis Valley Shelter, an L.A. Family Housing Corporation shelter.

Museum hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per person; children under age 2 are free.

Information: (213) 687-8800.

Music, Maestro, Please: The fourth season of “Children’s Concerts in Historic Sites” will be presented by the Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary’s College, beginning Oct. 29 with music by the Diaz Trio, feathered “fast-dancing” by Navajo dancer Eric RunningPath, Native American folk tales told by Marjorie Moran and a visit to the museum’s “Apache Tribes, Past and Present” exhibit.

Single tickets are $10 per child, $18 per adult.

For reservations, discounted ticket packages and series subscription information, call: (310) 440-1351.