The BEST episodes of The Magic School Bus

Every episode of The Magic School Bus ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Magic School Bus!

A classroom taught by Ms. Valerie Frizzle is always fun and exciting. The colorful teacher owns a Magic School Bus which can transform into different things like a spaceship, a battery, or even an alligator! These things can help Ms. Frizzle with visual teaching methods as she reveals information about anything in science. The students include Carlos, Phoebe, Keesha, Dorothy Ann, Tim, Ralphie, Arnold, and Wanda. Originally, The Magic School Bus aired on PBS. But when production ceased after four years, The Magic School Bus's run on PBS ended with it.

Last Updated: 12/27/2023Network: PBSStatus: Ended
Share:
Holiday Special
star
9.05
20 votes

#1 - Holiday Special

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/25/1996

It's the last day of school before the winter holidays and Wanda plans to see the Nutcracker ballet. But during a trip to a recycling plant that belongs to Murph (Dolly Parton), the toy soldier she needs to get into the theatre accidentally gets recycled! Devastated, Wanda wishes for a world without recycling. Ms. Frizzle activates the bus's un-recycler, taking the class and Murph on a song-filled field trip. The importance of recycling hits home when the bus's magic unrecycles everything in Walkerville — including the bus itself, as it too was made from recycled objects! Will the kids find a way to reconstruct the bus in time for Wanda to get back to see the Nutcracker? (Dolly Parton sings an original song plus four special carols written by Peter Lurye, composer of the rollicking MAGIC SCHOOL BUS theme song.)

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Kicks up a Storm
star
8.96
51 votes

#2 - Kicks up a Storm

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/4/1994

The Friz transforms the bus into a Weathermobile and -- in a wild ride through the skies -- Ralphie becomes the meteorological superhero of his dreams.

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
In the City
star
8.50
70 votes

#3 - In the City

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/29/1997

Ms. Frizzle's class is visiting the zoo, which is, according to Tim, the only place in the city where wild animals can survive. To test this idea — ZAP! — Ms. Frizzle turns the class into possums, foxes, and falcons! The Bus, with Liz inside, becomes a bear and wanders off, looking for food. Will the kid-animals be able to find the Bus-bear before the zookeeper finds it? And is Tim right? Can animals (like themselves) survive in the city?

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Goes to Mussel Beach
star
8.38
76 votes

#4 - Goes to Mussel Beach

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/1997

The class is enjoying a normal summer day at the beach until Ms. Frizzle discovers a letter from ""Uncle Shelby,"" who wants the class to look after his beachfront property. The kids soon discover that this ""luxurious"" accommodation is only a tiny spot on the shoreline. Why would anyone want to live in a spot where they're battered by waves at high tide and baked by the sun at low tide? To find out, Ms. Frizzle turns the kids into... mussels!?

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Goes to Seed
star
8.29
24 votes

#5 - Goes to Seed

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/19/1994

The class' garden is going to be featured on the cover of PLANT IT! magazine. But Phoebe's garden plot is glaringly empty. With Robby Benson as Mr. Seedplot.

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Cracks a Yolk
star
8.19
77 votes

#6 - Cracks a Yolk

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/20/1997

When the principal, Mr. Ruhle (Paul Winfield), has to go away for a few days, he leaves his beloved chicken, Giblets, in Dorothy Ann's care. Unfortunately, the minute Mr. Ruhle is out the door, Giblets flies away. How will DA ever find another prized Rhode Island Red to replace Giblets? Where do you get chickens anyway? And which comes first, the chicken or the egg? The next thing DA knows, Ms. Frizzle and the class are on a field trip to see how eggs are made — from the inside out! But will this egg have everything it needs to become ""Giblets the Second""?

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gets Swamped
star
8.15
95 votes

#7 - Gets Swamped

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/11/1997

The debate is intense: Should Walkerville get rid of the swamp by the river and replace it with a fantastic new shopping mall or build the mall somewhere else? Carlos, representing his class, is given the thankless task of persuading the town council to keep the smelly old swamp. If he loses the debate, he'll lose to Arnold's pesky cousin Janet! The kids learn that the swamp is an important habitat and natural water filter, but the council's not convinced until... FLOOD!!

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
For Lunch
star
8.09
128 votes

#8 - For Lunch

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/17/1994

Arnold's so excited he doesn't have to go on a field trip! But when he accidentally swallows his miniaturised class, he becomes the field trip!

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Takes a Dive
star
8.04
73 votes

#9 - Takes a Dive

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/6/1997

When Wanda discovers that one of Ms. Frizzle's ancestors was Redbeard the Pirate, she naturally wants to follow the treasure map he left. The map leads the class to a coral reef, where they learn first hand that life there is risky. To survive, they find, many plants and animals form surprising partnerships. But Wanda's not interested in partnerships — she just wants to find that treasure! When Ms. Frizzle turns the class into different sea creatures, Wanda as ""Wanda-Anemone,"" ""Wanda-Shrimp,"" and ""Wanda-Remora,"" begins to understand that partnerships are more valuable then she thought.

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Butterfly and the Bog Beast
star
7.69
70 votes

#10 - Butterfly and the Bog Beast

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/7/1995

The class needs a new mascot for its soccer team. Phoebe suggests butterflies, but everyone thinks they’re wimpy—until The Friz flutters in!

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gets Ready, Set, Dough
star
7.62
61 votes

#11 - Gets Ready, Set, Dough

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/5/1994

It's Ms. Frizzle's birthday, and a field trip to the bakery seems perfect -- until the bus's shrinker-scope goes on the fritz and the class gets baked in a cake! With Dom DeLuise as the Baker.

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gets Lost in Space
star
7.62
159 votes

#12 - Gets Lost in Space

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/10/1994

Arnold's know-it-all cousin Janet drives the kids crazy when she joins Ms. Frizzle's class on a field trip and gets them lost in outer space!

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gets a Bright Idea
star
7.59
73 votes

#13 - Gets a Bright Idea

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/12/1996

After the illuminating light show at Walkerville's old theatre, Arnold's bossy cousin Janet claims she could put on a much better show. Nobody believes her until Janet and Arnold mysteriously disappear. Ms. Frizzle leads her class into the darkened theatre to look for them. To shed some light on the problem, the kids become beams of light. Then, to their great shock, they see Arnold's ghostly image floating high above the empty stage! Is the theatre haunted? Is this just one of Janet's tricks? Or have they all been ""Frizzled""?

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Goes Cellular
star
7.59
80 votes

#14 - Goes Cellular

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/18/1997

It's the night of the rock lovers' annual Granite Awards, and Arnold is about to become the first kid ever to win the coveted Rocky Award. He's so excited, all he's been able to eat for weeks are ""Seaweedies"" — and lots of them! When he arrives for the big event, he's totally nervous and totally...orange! Once the class determines that the orange isn't on Arnold's skin, they shrink down to explore what's underneath. They discover that his whole body is made of living cells — and they're all orange! But where is the orange coming from... and how can they make it go away?

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Busasaurus
star
7.57
54 votes

#15 - The Busasaurus

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/23/1995

Ms. Frizzle takes the class on a dinosaur dig, courtesy of her old school chum, paleontologist Dr. Carmina Skeledon, and travels 67 million years back in time!

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Revving Up
star
7.51
45 votes

#16 - Revving Up

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/28/1995

The school district’s Vehicle Maintenance Inspector, Junkett is about to condemn the Magic School Bus!

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Wet All Over
star
7.48
48 votes

#17 - Wet All Over

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/14/1995

The class takes a wild ride with The Friz through the water cycle.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gets Eaten
star
7.45
64 votes

#18 - Gets Eaten

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/1/1994

Arnold and Keesha are in trouble when they forget to bring in their assignment on "two things that go together."

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
In the Rainforest
star
7.44
45 votes

#19 - In the Rainforest

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/23/1996

The kids rent a rain-forest cocoa tree as an Earth Day present for Ms. Frizzle. But when the harvest arrives, there's only one shriveled cocoa bean and a note from Inspector 47 (Matt Frewer) reporting that, for reasons unknown, the tree isn't producing beans! DA and Tim become detectives as Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the rain forest to meet the impeccable inspector, who keeps a tidy, mud-free cocoa grove. What has Inspector 47 done to the rain forest's intricate web of life that is keeping the tree from making pods?

Writer: Brian Meehl
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Makes a Stink
star
7.42
45 votes

#20 - Makes a Stink

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/8/1997

Flora Whiff (Bebe Neuwirth), the famous expert on smell — whose ""nose knows"" — comes to school to judge the First Annual Smell Search. Ms. Frizzle's class creates a unique smell which is bound to take first prize, but Arnold's cousin, Janet, determined to win by herself, changes their smell to an odour only a skunk could love. The kids discover the secret to what makes things smell... now they have to make sure their creation doesn't make a big stink!

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
In the Haunted House
star
7.42
91 votes

#21 - In the Haunted House

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/29/1994

The class is thrilled about its upcoming concert at the Sound Museum -- until they discover the spooky mansion is more of a thrill than they bargained for. With Carol Channing as Cornelia C. Contralto.

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gets Charged
star
7.40
50 votes

#22 - Gets Charged

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/15/1997

It's Valentine's Day and the class is selling lightbulbs. When they stop at Ms. Frizzle's house to sell her one, they find that her battery-operated doorbell doesn't work. While looking for Ms. Frizzle to tell her the doorbell's broken, Wanda overhears her teacher talking on the telephone. ""Ms. Frizzle has a boyfriend,"" says Wanda, ""and he's on his way over to see her! We've got to fix the doorbell or she'll never know he's here!"" But first they have to figure out how the doorbell works...

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Going Batty
star
7.36
55 votes

#23 - Going Batty

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/30/1995

When Ms. Frizzle invites the class’ parents in to see that their kids are learning about bats, Ralphie and the gang are convinced The Friz is a vampire! With Tyne Daly as Ralphie’s mom; Eartha Kitt as Keesha’s grandmother; Elliot Gould as Arnold’s dad; Dana Elcar as Phoebe’s dad; and Edward James Olmos as Carlos’s dad.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Flexes Its Muscles
star
7.34
82 votes

#24 - Flexes Its Muscles

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/16/1995

Ms. Frizzle takes the class on a field trip to R.U. Humerus's Body Shop. They learn how bones, muscles and joints all work together to help us move.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gets Ants in Its Pants
star
7.34
47 votes

#25 - Gets Ants in Its Pants

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/26/1994

The Magic School Bus goes into show business when Keesha directs a movie about social animals for the school science fair.

Directors: Lawrence Jacobs
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV