American edutainment media franchise
The Magic School Bus
is an American
edutainment
media franchise
that includes
a book series
,
a TV series
,
a streaming series
, and
video games
. Each of the stories within the franchise focuses on the antics of a fictional elementary school teacher, Ms. Frizzle, and her class (with Carlos, Keesha, Phoebe, Arnold, Tim, etc.) who board a "magic school bus", which takes them on field trips to unusual times and locations, such as the
Cretaceous
Period, outer space, and inside a human body.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
The first medium in which this franchise was developed was the
Magic School Bus
book series. Craig Walker, vice-president and senior editorial director at Scholastic Co., stated that the concept began with the idea of combining science with fictional stories, and the late
Joanna Cole
(who had written both science and humor before) and
Bruce Degen
were then approached with creating such a series. Walker also explains that his own memories of school field trips and of a teacher he had once, served as further inspiration.
[2]
The first book,
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks
, was published in 1986.
[3]
[4]
The books are written in the
first person
from the point of view of an unnamed student in "the Friz's" class.
[
citation needed
]
Cole and Degen started a new series called
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures
in 2001, which teaches
social studies
, eventually producing three books in that series.
Microsoft Home
began publishing
Magic School Bus
software in 1994, the same year
The Magic School Bus
concept was also adapted into
an animated television series of the same name
by
Scholastic Entertainment
along Canadian animation studio. The series premiered on PBS in September 10, 1994, with its theme song performed by musician
Little Richard
. Scholastic Entertainment president Deborah Forte says that adapting the books into an animated series was an opportunity to help kids "learn about science in a fun way".
[5]
Around that time, Forte had been hearing concern from parents and teachers about how to improve science education for girls and minorities.
[5]
As noted by Marcel LaFollette, "accomplished women were exceptions in a universe of male luminaries" when it came to science television.
[6]
: 185
Ms. Valerie Frizzle, the magic school teacher, was the closest approximation to an expert female host.
[7]
[6]
: 183, 185?195
She was voiced by
Lily Tomlin
in the series.
[8]
The series was followed by another animated series,
The Magic School Bus Rides Again
,
which premiered on
Netflix
in 2017.
Scholastic Entertainment
, the
American Meteorological Society
and Texan
Children's Museum of Houston
created a
Scholastic's the Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm
, a 2,600 sq ft (240 m
2
) traveling exhibit funded in part by the
National Science Foundation
, which premiered at the Children's Museum of Houston in 2003 (a copy of it opened in
New Jersey
the month after that).
[9]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Erickson, Hal (2005).
Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003
(2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 714?715.
ISBN
978-1476665993
.
- ^
Lodge, Sally (July 27, 2006).
"Two Decades of Fun and Learning on the Magic School Bus"
.
Publishers Weekly
. Retrieved
October 3,
2012
.
- ^
Mancini, Mark (July 16, 2020).
"12 Magical Facts about The Magic School Bus"
.
Mental Floss
. Minute Media
. Retrieved
January 7,
2022
.
- ^
Terrill, Marshall (July 23, 2020).
"Ms. Frizzle Creator Leaves Behind a Legacy of Learning"
.
News.ASU.edu
.
Arizona State University
. Retrieved
January 7,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Clarke, Melanie M. (June 20, 2005). "A Scholastic Achievement".
Broadcasting & Cable
.
135
(25). Cahners Publishing Co. and Reed Publishing (USA) Inc.: 30.
- ^
a
b
LaFollette, Marcel Chotkowski (2013). "Rarae Aves: Television's Female Scientists".
Science on American television : a history
. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press. pp. 185?195.
ISBN
978-0-226-92199-0
.
- ^
Halpern, Paul (2015).
"On the Air"
.
Distillations
.
1
(2). Chemical Heritage Foundation: 44
. Retrieved
March 23,
2018
.
- ^
"Lily Tomlin"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
April 25,
2018
.
- ^
McCallum, Cheryl D.; Nazarani, L.; The Children's Museum of Houston (January 4, 2007).
"Scholastics the Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm Museum Exhibit"
.
ams.confex.com
. American Meteorological Society
. Retrieved
March 23,
2009
.