Teacher Activity Guide: Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores in the Age of Dinosaurs
Updated: April 8, 2004
In Scholastic's The Magic School BusŪ, Explores in the Age of Dinosaurs students travel in both time and place. The bus magically transports them back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. It takes them around the globe to visit seven famous dinosaur sites.
Throughout this incredible journey, Ms. Frizzle and her class help your students solve a puzzle. Three photos of prehistoric animals are missing from the Friz's photo album. The animals belong in one of three categories: plant-eating dinosaurs, meat-eating dinosaurs, or non-dinosaurs.
While they explore the dinosaur sites and solve the puzzle, students learn science concepts in highly motivating ways: fascinating reports, amazing facts, fun activities, and fast-action games. The Quick Reference Guide on the next page outlines the content of Magic School Bus Explores in the Age of Dinosaurs. The hands-on activities in this teaching guide reinforce the concepts that your students discover on their trip through time.
Computer Basis
The booklet inside the CD case will tell you how to load and run the program. The disk has a Help file with further instructions and a troubleshooting guide. These quick tips will make your first prehistoric adventure easier.
Clicking
Point the cursor at objects and characters and click the mouse. Click boldly and often to uncover zany surprises!
On-Screen Help
When you enter the front of the bus, Ms. Frizzle gives a guided tour of the instruments. To stop the tour, click on the monitor where she appears. In games and activities click on the question mark (?) for help. As you explore the sites, Magic School Bus characters will chime in with tips and suggestions.
Scrolling
The classroom is split into two screens. To scroll from one screen to the other, click on the wind-up Stegosaurus on the floor.
The Bus
In the front of the bus, click on the rear view mirror at the top of the screen to go to the back of the bus. In the back of the bus, click on the mirror above Ms. Frizzle's head to go to the front of the bus. In both the front and the back, click on the double doors to exit the bus. When you're finished exploring outside the bus, click on the bus to go back inside it.
Ms. Frizzle's Classroom
The program begins in Ms. Frizzle's classroom. To start the field trip, click on the yellow bus outside the window in the right-hand screen. You'll end up in the front of the bus. From there, you can travel back to the classroom at any time - just click on the red "Now Lever" next to the time machine (the domed device with a clock on top).
Traveling Between Sites
You can visit the seven sites in any order, as many times as you like. There are two ways to do it. In the front of the bus, click on the steering wheel or the time machine to see a world map. Click on one of the seven sites on the map; click on the revolving globe in the center of the steering wheel to go there.
Outside the bus, look for signposts with arrows. Click on a signpost to go directly to another site in the same time period. For example, from Triassic Arizona you can go directly to Triassic Argentina, but not to any of the Jurassic or Cretaceous sites.
Ms. Frizzle's Photo Album
The photo album features pictures of prehistoric animals. Open it in the classroom or in the back of the bus, and you will see that a photo is missing. Click on the empty frame to hear up to three clues. Guess the identity of the missing animal, travel to its time and place, and take a picture of it (see "The Camera").
The Camera
To take a photo in any one of the seven sites, click on the camera at the bottom of the screen. Then click on an animal. If you've chosen the correct animal, your photo will appear in the photo album. You can then move on to the next missing photo. There are three missing photos in all.
Reports
In the back of the bus, click on the Reports Machine (behind Ms. Frizzle) to access informative reports in paleontology, biology, and geology.
Skull-X Machine
In the back of the bus, the Skull-X machine (the monitor in the center that shows a dinosaur head) takes X-ray photos of various dinosaur heads.
Fossil Finder
The Fossil Finder machine is in the back of the bus just above the Skull-X machine. Click on the monitor to see a world map. Click on a continent to view it close-up. Click on a colored country, state or province to further enlarge the map and see fossils that were found in that location.
PaleoCard Collections
Earn PaleoCards by winning certain games (see the Quick Reference Guide). Each card features an animal's photo and vital statistics. View your collection by clicking on the PaleoCard icons in the games or on the PaleoCard Gallery in the back of the bus. You can flip through the cards, sort them by attributes, view them close-up, and even print them.
Stopping
Click on the QUIT/SAVE button in the front of the bus to stop playing, save the current game, or search for new missing photos. To leave the game quickly from any point - without saving the game - press the ALT button and the F4 button together. (For Macintosh, press command-Q.)
