Everyone grew up watching the infamous mid-90s cartoon, The Magic School Bus, but has anyone seen the science-based educational show recently? 

Though it only ran from 1994 to 1997, the show has made a multi-generational impact, leaving thousands of kids and adults to reminisce now about watching the show when your teacher is absent, or before a school break. 

Yasmin Elgamal, a junior English secondary education major, really enjoys The Magic School Bus. 

“I was a big fan, we watched it in elementary health class!” Elgamal said.

The science-themed cartoon took place in an elementary school classroom, where the students and teacher took unpredictable and specialized field trips. Some of these trips would include going to outer space, back in time to visit the dinosaurs, or inside the human body. 

The students would ride the Magic School Bus with their teacher, Ms. Frizzle, who orchestrated these events. Ms. Frizzle was known for wearing silly and extravagant, field trip-related outfits. Her bold outfits feel nostalgic to me, as I vividly remember her bright colors and unique patterns in each episode. 

“As an education major myself, I enjoy these types of cartoons. They are entertaining and educational. If I were to be absent last minute or before a school break, I would treat my students to watching an episode,” Elgamal said.

As I rewatched a few episodes over the summer, it was clear that the students at the summer school at which I worked, and myself, still really enjoyed the show. The students always asked to watch an episode during breakfast. 

With that being said, I would recommend it on a day where you want to watch something nostalgic. The staff at summer school found it useful as well because the students would be in their seats eating breakfast, quietly watching the cartoon, which gave the staff a few extra minutes to prepare that day’s lessons. I appreciated this practical distraction, too, because it gave me time to pass out notebooks and file assignments. 

In my opinion, sometimes children shows can be unentertaining and do not often have humor that I still find enjoyable, but this goofy cartoon still piques my interest and refreshes me on simple things I have forgotten over the years. I can not be the only one who does not remember sixth grade science class very well, but I do remember watching The Magic School Bus in it. 

My favorite character is Ms. Frizzle, because of her wildly unique teaching ideas. She takes hands-on learning to a whole other level. I want to be a fun teacher myself one day, maybe not to Ms. Frizzle’s extent, but I would love to match her energy in my future classroom. 

Overall, this wildly unpredictable cartoon can be enjoyable for all ages and grades, as long as it is related to the course.