Inside Ralphie

Gets Lost in Space

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When the planetarium is closed, Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a field trip through the solar system aboard the magic school bus, joined by Arnold's boastful cousin Janet. After an asteroid knocks Ms. Frizzle out of the bus, the children use her science clues to figure out which planet she landed on, working their way from Jupiter out to Pluto. They find her, and Janet lets go of her need to collect proof of everywhere she has been. The episode closes with a producer answering children's phoned-in questions about what the show got right and wrong.

For Lunch

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Miss Frizzle's class boards the magic school bus and shrinks down to travel through classmate Arnold's digestive system after he swallows a piece of chewing gum. Along the way they see how teeth grind food, how the stomach adds acid and how the small intestine absorbs nutrients into the bloodstream, while Arnold stays at school trying to break records. When Wanda drifts deep into the large intestine, the class works together to rescue her and ride back out the way they came. The episode ends with a producer taking a phone call that points out where the cartoon simplified the real science.

Gets Eaten

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On a class field trip with Ms. Frizzle, Keisha and Arnold realise they forgot their report and must explain how the green scum on Arnold's shoe connects to Keisha's tuna fish sandwich. The magic school bus shrinks the class down and takes them into the ocean, where they meet phytoplankton, zooplankton, anchovies and finally a tuna. Step by step they discover the ocean food chain and work out that everything is linked. Back in class they present their finished report, and a closing phone call recaps the idea of food chains and webs.

Hops Home

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Wanda brings her pet bullfrog Bella to the classroom, but Bella hops out an open window during class. Miss Frizzle turns the search into a field trip on the Magic School Bus, which shrinks and hops the students through a meadow, a tree, a fast stream and finally a beaver pond, testing each spot for the food, water, space and shelter a frog needs. Wanda finds Bella safe at the pond, where a heron and a new frog friend named Herman make it clear this is her real home. Wanda decides to leave Bella there and say goodbye, and the class returns to school.

Meets the Rot Squad

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Ms. Frizzle's class holds a rotten-food contest, and winner Wanda receives a young tree she wants to plant in a vacant lot full of dead logs. When Wanda calls a service to haul away one rotting log, the Magic School Bus shrinks the class to bug size so they can see the fungi, beetles and slime molds living inside it. The children learn that rot is nature recycling itself and race to stop Larry from removing the log. In the end they save it, plant Wanda's tree, and feed it compost.

All Dried Up

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Ms. Frizzle's class builds a desert diorama and Phoebe becomes convinced the desert animals need rescuing from heat, hunger and thirst. The magic school bus flies them into a real desert, where they watch a lizard, jackrabbit, tortoise and other animals cope with the harsh conditions on their own. A sudden rainstorm floods the land and, by morning, the desert blooms, showing how everything there is adapted to survive. The episode closes with a phone call in which a caller quizzes the bus about desert facts and asks after Phoebe.

In the Haunted House

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Carlos has invented an instrument for a school concert, but it makes only a 'loopy' sound and he cannot fix it in time. When the magic school bus overheats, Ms. Frizzle's class ends up spending the night in what turns out to be the Sound Museum, a spooky old house where they chase mysterious noises and learn that sound is made by vibration. Guided by their questions and a living descendant of the museum's founder, Carlos works out that his instrument needs to vibrate freely, strips it down, and finally produces the sound he imagined. The episode closes with a phone call to the show's producer that reviews how sound and hearing work.