Barney the Dinosaur, a bright purple and green relentlessly cheerful anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus Rex created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach in Dallas, has become a worldwide hit with a generation of children.

The character, with his friends, is the centerpiece of the eponymous Barney and Friends children’s television programs that convey educational messages through songs and simple dance routines.

Leach conceived Barney when she was considering TV programs that would be both educational and appeal to her young son. It developed into a TV hit and has spread across the world as a popular edutainment program for children aged one to eight. Her idea worked and over the last 20 years Barney and Friends has established itself as a firm favorite.

None of this was in the minds of the scores of children who had turned out to meet the cheerful fantasy figure towering two and a half meters over them. This was an opportunity to see their hero, laugh, perform some of the well-known routines with him and in some cases burst into tears with the excitement of it all. Some parents not excluded!