The Magic School Bus merchandise

The Magic School Bus merchandise relates to the The Magic School Bus series for children.

Books (1986–2010)

The original Magic School Bus books are:

• The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks (ISBN 0-590-40360-5, 1986)
  • Topic: the water cycle and the waterworks
  • Ms Frizzle's class is going with her on the most boring field trip, to the waterworks. At least that is what they think until they discover how interesting things always happen on Ms Frizzle's trips. After going through a tunnel, all the children find themselves in scuba diving outfits. On the top of a bridge the bus rises up in the air and into a cloud. Once in the cloud, the class finds that water droplets are growing, and they are shrinking. The class rains and lands in the water purification system. Eventually it takes them back to Walkerville Elementary, where they come out of the faucet in the girls' bathroom. Later, they see the bus outside and wonder how it returned from the cloud.

• The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth (ISBN 0-590-40760-0, 1987)
  • Topic: geology
  • Ms Frizzle's class is starting a unit on geology and for homework every student has to find a rock, and bring it to school. The next day almost every child has an excuse, so Ms Frizzle decides to take the class on a field trip to collect rocks. The class starts digging until they, with the help of the magic bus, dig all the way through the center of Earth. They collect many rocks and learn about the different types. Phoebe Terese first appears in this book as the "new kid". Before the show was even in production, the Magic School Bus appeared on PBS, because this book was featured on Reading Rainbow.

• The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body (ISBN 0-590-41427-5, 1989)
  • Topic: the human body
  • Ms Frizzle's class is going to the museum to see an exhibit on the human body. However they stop for lunch at a park and Arnold takes too long to eat. When Ms Frizzle tries to hit the horn to tell him to hurry, she "accidentally" pushes a strange little button on the dashboard and the class finds itself inside a human body, but they are unaware that it is Arnold's. They go through the digestive system and brain and out through the nose.

• The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System (ISBN 0-590-41429-1, 1990)
  • Topic: the solar system
  • Arnold's know-it-all cousin Janet, is coming on the field trip this time. They are going to the planetarium to see a show about the solar system, but it is closed for repairs. On the way back to school, they blast off and fly into outer space. They visit all the planets and learn about them, but in the asteroid belt, they lose Ms Frizzle and find themselves lost in space. The rocket bus featured in this book has become a symbol of the Magic School Bus series.

• The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor (ISBN 0-590-41431-3, 1992)
  • Topic: the ocean
  • Ms Frizzle's class is learning about the ocean. It is really hot and the children just want a break. They are thrilled when she says they will take a trip to the ocean. However, when she gets to the beach she starts to drive into the water and they realise that when Ms Frizzle says "ocean" she means "ocean". Believing the bus is in trouble, Lenny the Lifeguard decides to try to save the children and instead finds himself accompanying them on the field trip.

• The Magic School Bus In the Time of the Dinosaurs (ISBN 0-590-44689-4, 1994)
  • Topic: dinosaurs
  • The children are turning their classroom into Dinosaur Land for Parents' Night, as they are studying dinosaurs. Ms Frizzle receives a letter from an old high school friend who is now a paleontologist and she decides to take the class on a trip to the dig. When she discovers that they are missing the bones of some Maiasaurs, she turns the bus into a time machine to travel back to the age of dinosaurs to find the bones. The class sees dinosaurs and learns the name of the different periods of the era and other information. This is the first time Ms Frizzle's first name is mentioned, and it is the first appearance of Carlos Ramon and Keesha Franklin, although Keesha was first seen in The Magic School Bus: On the Ocean Floor.

• The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane (ISBN 0-590-44687-8, 1995)
  • Topic: weather
  • The class is going to the weather station to learn about weather. However, on the way there the bus turns into a hot air balloon. Eventually they find themselves inside a hurricane. Ms Frizzle's radio proves an annoyance to Arnold in this book, as it seems to know his name.

• The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive (1996)
  • Topic: bees
  • The class is now learning about insects and Ms Frizzle is taking her class on a trip to meet a beekeeper, but they beat the beekeeper there. While they are waiting, Ms Frizzle accidentally pushes a small lever which turns the bus into a tiny beehive and the class (including Ms Frizzle) into bees. They explore the hive and learn about bees, but can they save the hive from a bear?

• The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip (1998)
  • Topic: electricity
  • The children in Ms Frizzle's class were sure that there was nobody like her, but that was before they met her niece, Dottie Frizzle. Dottie accompanies the class on their field trip to the town power plant. There the bus turns into a dump truck, and pours the children into the plant. They shrink and travel through the Walkerville electric system.

• The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses (1999)
  • Topic: the five senses
  • The class is learning about the senses and they are going to sing a song for an important teacher meeting. However, Ms Frizzle's personality and clothes make the class forget. Ms Frizzle thinks the meeting is tomorrow, but it is really today. So Mr Wilde, the assistant principal, decides to catch her so he can tell her about the meeting. He decides to get in a bus that just happens to be the magic school bus. The class decides to accompany him. They cannot let him drive that bus, not all by himself. Mr Wilde accidentally shrinks the bus and soon he and the class find themselves on a trip exploring the senses. Mr Wilde soon becomes obsessed with driving the bus and forgets all about finding Ms Frizzle, but the class does not. Ms Frizzle's mother appears in this book.

• The Magic School Bus and the Science Fair Expedition (ISBN 0-590-10824-7; 2006)
  • Topic: famous scientists in history
  • The first MSB book since 1999, The Magic School Bus celebrated its 20th anniversary with this new book published on 1 August 2006. Ms. Frizzle and her class have to find projects to display at the Walkerville Science Fair, and fast. They decide to consult with famous scientists in history like Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Galileo Galilei, even Albert Einstein. All the original characters are in this book.

• The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge (ISBN 0-590-10826-3; 2010)
  • Topic: climate change
  • Ms. Frizzle takes the class on a flight in the bus over the arctic, showing them how the polar ice caps have melted since Ms. Frizzle's old copy of Our Wonderful World was published. The travel around the earth, observing the impacts of global warming and alternative energy sources. Returning back to their home town, Ms. Frizzle gives the class special goggles to observe the greenhouse-gas molecules in the air. When the students return to school, they discuss things people can do to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.

Software

The educational software made by Microsoft includes:

Original titles (1994–2000)

Most of the original titles were created by the software company Music Pen in collaboration with Microsoft and Scholastic Press, the publisher of the Magic School Bus book series. Though in the cartoon series, the bus was obviously animated in the usual way, in the CD-ROM games, it is typically animated with computer generated imagery. In all these titles the user gets to "drive" the bus, which almost always involves clicking on the steering wheel and choosing a location. (The exception is The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth where it is the gear shift instead of the steering wheel.) Most of the games have about seven different locations, including the classroom. There is always some goal for the user in each one.

• The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System (1994)-(1997)
  • This is essentially a computer version of the book The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System and the cartoon episode "The Magic School Bus Lost in Space," except that Ms. Frizzle is lost as soon as the bus flies away from Earth. The user can fly the bus to any planet he or she chooses and play experiments and click on things there. To win the game, the user has to discover the whereabouts of the Friz. To do so they have to play a "whatsit" game to earn a token which gives them a clue as to which planet Ms. Frizzle is on. Once Ms. Frizzle is found, the bus will return to the classroom and the game begins again. You can visit all 9 planets plus the moon, however if you try to get out of the bus on Earth before Ms. Frizzle is found, Liz will say "You're giving up too soon! You still haven't found the Friz! Don't you want to keep playing?" (This game is also one of the few in the series in which Liz can talk.) When the gas giants are visited, the bus lands on one of their moons.
• The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body (1994)-(1997)
  • This program is based on the book The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body and the episode The Magic School Bus for Lunch. Arnold has become the class' next field trip. The user can drive the bus to 12 different organs. In some locations the player can leave the bus. Each place has an arcade game and a science experiment. There is a great deal to explore, but will the class ever get out of Arnold?
• The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean (1995)-(1998)
  • This game is based on The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor and the TV episode The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten. The class has taken a field trip to the beach. There they found a message in a bottle; with clues to a treasure. The user explores the ocean and follows clues that lead him/her to the treasure. This was the first CD-ROM that featured the entire cast on the bus. (In The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System, Ms. Frizzle was missing; and in The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body, Arnold wasn't in the bus, because the bus was in Arnold.) This is also the only one where the classroom can't be visited. Also, this is the first game that has activities to do in the back of the school bus. This is also the first game to save the game in multiple files.
• The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth (1996)-(1999)
  • This product is based on the book The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth and the television episode "The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top." Arnold has lost some of the rocks and minerals in his collection. The user explores several places such a canyon, a geode, a fault, a volcano, and even an undersea environment which features a subduction zone, a mid-ocean ridge, and an underwater volcano. The user can collect rocks in various ways. The goal is to find replacements for the rocks and minerals Arnold lost. When the user creates a file, up to 6 files can be saved at the maximum. This is considered to be the best game out of them all.
• The Magic School Bus Explores In the Age of Dinosaurs (1996)-(1999)
  • This game is based on the book The Magic School Bus in the Age of Dinosaurs and the TV episode The Magic School Bus : The Busasaurus. Ms. Frizzle is missing some photographs from her photo album of her last trip to the age of dinosaurs. As usual, the user has to find replacements. There are seven different places, including "Jurassic Colorado" and "Triassic Argentina." Unlike the book, the Bus transforms into three different dinosaurs, ??? for the Triassic Period, Stegosaurus for the Jurassic Period, and Pterodon for the Cretaceous Period. This game has very elaborate CGI forms for the bus. Although the classroom location song has changed in the following games, the game's classroom location song is the same as The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth, but had added more rhythm in between. The classroom theme song in this game was re-used in the following game, The Magic School Bus Explores the Rainforest. Also, in this game the user can replace previously saved data on one of the files when all 6 have already been saved (In The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth, if all 6 files were saved, a new data would replace one of them at random if saving the game).
• The Magic School Bus Explores the Rainforest (1997)-(2000)
  • The class is decorating their classroom for "Rainforest Day." Wanda brought a "Right-Away-Rainforest Toolbox" that could do the job, but some "bio-clones" are missing from the kit. Ms. Frizzle takes the class on a field trip to the Costa Rican rainforest to find the missing "bio-clones." This is the only time Ms. Frizzle's middle name is mentioned. This game was the first of the CD-ROM series not to be based on one of the books. It was also the last one created by Music Pen.

• The Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals (1999)-(2001)
  • While Lily Tomlin continues her role as Ms. Frizzle, this is the first game of the software series to replace the original voice actors of the eight children. In this game, the user has to find all the four missing animals from the incorrect habitats and send them back to their own habitats where they each belong. Unlike the previous games, the user enters his or her name before playing the game instead of creating a file within creating a face on the Driver's License screen, and the save option was removed so the game is automatically saved when quitting the game.

• The Magic School Bus Explores Bugs (2000)-(2002)

Sega Genesis

• Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Space Exploration Game (1995)
  • This was the only game created on a medium other than PC CD-ROM. The premise was for the Magic School Bus to select a destination (starting with The Moon and reaching all the way out to Pluto). The game would then follow the same format, where Ms. Frizzle would take off into outer space, and you (As Phoebe) would have to find her. All missions consisted of flying to the planet (while taking photographs of various space objects, shooting apart meteors, and collecting "space buoys" for fuel), landing the bus on a platform successfully, traversing the planet on foot to find Ms. Frizzle, and finally, putting together a sliding jigsaw puzzle to complete the stage. All this with plenty of bonus games along the way, one based heavily on Asteroids and the other on Breakout.

Sega Pico

• A Sega Pico title under the same name was released in 1995. The game is about going to various places (such as the time of dinosaurs, the solar system etc.)

Activity Centres

• The Magic School Bus: Whales and Dolphins: Activity Center (2001)
• The Magic School Bus Discovers Flight: Activity Center (2002)
• The Magic School Bus: Volcano: Activity Center (2003)
• The Magic School Bus Lands on Mars: Activity Center (2002)
• The Magic School Bus In Concert: Activity Center (2000)

External links

• The Magic School Bus Merchandise