beep beep
Seat belts, everyone!
Please let this be a normal field trip.
With the Frizz? No way!
♪ Cruisin' on down Main Street ♪
♪ You're relaxed and feelin' good ♪
♪ Yeah! ♪
♪ Next thing that you know, you're seein' ♪
Wa-ha-ha-hoo!
♪ An octopus in the neighborhood! ♪
♪ Surfin' on a sound wave ♪
♪ Swingin' through the stars ♪
♪ Take a left at your intestine ♪
♪ Take your second right past Mars ♪
♪ On the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Navigate a nostril ♪
♪ Climb on the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Spank a plankton, too ♪
Take that!
♪ On our Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Raft a river of lava ♪
♪ On the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Such a fine thing to do! ♪
Whoa!
♪ So strap your bones right to the seat ♪
♪ Come on in and don't be shy ♪
♪ Just to make your day complete ♪
♪ You might get baked into a pie ♪
♪ On the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Step inside, it's a wilder ride! ♪
♪ Come on ♪
♪ Ride on the Magic School Bus ♪
beep beep
I'm telling you, something's missing.
But, Tim, when it comes to deserts,
we've got everything under the sun.
Sorry, D.A. It just doesn't say desert yet.
Are you kidding?
It screams "desert."
We've got sand. We've got gravel.
We've got desert plants,
like cacti, creosote bushes, ocotillo.
We've got the desert's harsh conditions--
hot, blazing sun, dry, blinding dust storms.
Tim's right. There's something missing.
♪ Them bones, them bones, them dry bones ♪
As I always say, Arnold,
"It never hurts to be prepared."
That's funny, Ms. Frizzle, that's exactly what I was thinking.
I know! I know! Desert animals!
That's what's missing.
Ms. Frizzle, our diorama will never be complete
without desert animals.
Dynamic deduction, Phoebe.
Huh?
These should do for now.
Now? It's later I'm worried about.
Thank you, Ms. Frizzle.
Here you go, little guy.
According to my research, that's a kangaroo rat.
And that's a Gila monster.
Isn't it cute?
(Carlos) Only Phoebe would think
a Gila monster is cute.
And there's more--
tortoise, beetle, scorpion,
jackrabbit, roadrunner.
Whoa! Liz, what's up with you?
And do you know what this is?
A baby coyote.
Ha ha ha!
Phoebe, are you sure all these animals
live in the desert?
Think about it. The desert is really hot.
The sun beats down all day long--
beat, beat, beat--
and there's nowhere for the animals to go
to escape the heat, heat, heat.
Not only is it hot, but there's hardly any food in the desert,
so any animal that shows its face
gets eaten by a bigger one.
grr!
Huh? Stop!
And that's not all.
It isn't?
The worst part--
there's almost no water in the desert.
gasp
No water?
Uh-huh. No shelter, no food, no water.
In no time at all,
all your cute little animals are buzzard bait.
gasp
Scarcity is the name of the game, Pheebs-- scarcity.
He's right, Phoebe.
There's not much food, water, or shelter
in the desert.
We've got to do something. Yeah!
What can we do? What can we do?
Well, at my old school, we'd take a stand,
form a committee.
Go on a field trip?
Arnold, are you serious?
He's right.
SADS to the rescue!
SADS? SADS? SADS?
Students Against Desert Scarcity.
To the desert!
Ms. Frizzle?
Yes, Arnold?
For once, I'm prepared-- regulation desert gear,
as outlined in chapter seven
of my new field trip survival guide.
Ms. Frizzle, do your worst.
I'll do my best, Arnold.
Well, are you guys coming?
Or do I have to save these desert animals
all by myself?
To the bus!
Follow that Phoebe!
Yay! Yay! Yay!
beep beep
(Ralphie) Hey, Arnold,
so what do you have in that knapsack, anyway?
Oh, a little sunblock, snake-bite kit,
a few dozen malloblasters.
What, no football?
Carlos, we are not going to the desert to have fun.
We're not?
The desert is full of surprises, Phoebe.
And this bus is so slow. Can't we go any faster, Ms. Frizzle?
Every second we waste means those poor little animals are out there suffering.
Well, that's one way of looking at it, Phoebe.
Ok, bus, do your stuff!
Wahoo!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Yay! Yay! Yay!
(Ms. Frizzle) ♪ She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes ♪
♪ When she comes ♪
Are we there yet?
Chill, Phoebe. We only just took off.
We're flying over mountains.
Didn't you say Students Against Desert Scarcity?
Yeah, and the mountains have plenty of shelter, food, and water.
Ms. Frizzle, we must be going the wrong way!
Wrong way? Why, Phoebe,
if it weren't for these mountains,
there wouldn't even be a desert.
What do mountains have to do with the desert?
Haven't you guys ever heard of a rain shadow?
No. No.
Some deserts are made by what's called the "rain-shadow effect."
When warm, moist air rises over the mountains,
its water vapor condenses into rain or snow.
The mountains catch all the moisture,
so the air reaching the other side is dry as a desert.
Look out below!
It's not fair. Why should the mountains get all the water?
If you keep asking questions, Phoebe,
you'll find an answer.
Oh, and there's the perfect parking spot. Hold on tight!
Huh?
Whoa! Whoa!
"Field Trip Tip Number 63:
"In the event of a rapid loss of altitude,
you may want to put on a parachute."
Liz, my parachute.
That's not a parachute!
That's a pair of shoes!
(Wanda) Look at this place!
Whew! The thermal probe
reads 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
That's hot!
How can anything live here?
[squawks]
Um, is it just me,
or does this look like the final field trip?
Come along, class!
We're here to experience the desert,
take chances, make mistakes,
and get dusty.
"Field Trip Tip Number 87: Not a problem."
Come on, you guys!
Students Against Desert Scarcity, remember?
We've got work to do!
Desert scarcity?
What about dessert scarcity? I'm hungry!
Hey, Arnold, where are those malloblasters?
I'm afraid they've melted.
How can you even think about eating
when all those poor little animals
are suffering from hunger?
The only poor little animals I see are us.
There's one!
(Ms. Frizzle) Why, that's a collared lizard!
And that's a funny-looking bird.
That, Keesha, is fine example
of a hungry roadrunner
chasing a--mmm-- delicious lizard to eat.
Come on! We have to protect that lizard!
Huh? Huh?
At my old school,
lizards never ran on their hind legs.
Quick, everyone, back in the bus!
Phoebe, what are we doing?
How would you like to be a lizard
being chased by a hungry roadrunner?
Ooh, a situation worth exploration, Phoebe.
(Carlos) Wow! Cool!
We're a Gila monster!
squawk
As I always say,
"When the going gets hungry,
the hungry get going."
(Wanda) Bad. Oh, bad. Oh, bad, bad, bad.
And getting worse-- it's gaining on us!
I hate field trips where we get eaten!
Aah! Aah! Aah!
(Tim) Any minute now,
we're gonna know what it's like to be eaten!
"Field Trip Tip Number 107:
To avoid being eaten, become inedible."
What does that mean?
(Ms. Frizzle) Class, do I hear a suggestion to avoid digestion?
(Dorothy Ann) According to my research, Arnold,
it means we ought to become something
that's not very appetizing.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
On the button, D.A.!
One inedible horned lizard coming up.
Whew! Close one!
Well, firsthand experience tells us
roadrunners don't like lizards with spikes.
Would you?
So the little animals here have special ways
to avoid getting eaten,
like running fast or being prickly.
Phoebe, that's right.
Which means they don't need your help, Pheebs.
Are you sure about that?
Life is tough in the desert.
Don't we know it. It's too hot to chase after animals.
Or to be chased. Whew! I'm burning up!
Exactly, and somewhere out there is a poor little animal
which is burning up, too.
Now, come on. We've got to find it and help it!
Stop the bus...please.
(Ms. Frizzle) Everybody out!
Not again!
Single file, class.
caw caw
I'm hot!
I'm tired!
I'm hungry!
I'm prepared!
Phoebe, we've been looking and looking,
and we haven't found any more animals.
None, Phoebe, and I'm burning up!
Me, too.
You're hot?
What about that poor little jackrabbit?
See? It's sitting there with the sun beating down on its head,
and it's wearing a fur coat.
Field Trip Tip Number 158:
When the sun is beating down on your head,
put on a hat.
Got that covered.
Thanks, Arnold.
Hey!
Here, little jackrabbit,
this will keep you from getting too hot--
a nice hat to shade your--
Phoebe!
Arnold! Now, how will that jackrabbit keep cool?
Well...
Ear-conditioning, Phoebe.
Ear- conditioning--
Good one, Ms. Frizzle.
Why, thank you, Carlos.
Carlos, how can you joke at a time like this?
According to my research, it's not a joke, Phoebe.
You know how a car radiator
cools off hot water from the engine?
Some desert animals have big ears which do the same thing.
When their warm blood moves through their big ears,
it gets cooled off in the same way.
Stay cool!
Come on, Pheebs, just admit it.
The lizards don't need your help,
and neither do the jackrabbits.
Ok, so the jackrabbit has a way of keeping itself cool,
but what about that?
That is a desert tortoise.
Hmm! You don't usually see them out in the heat like this.
See? An animal in need! Come on!
We've got to help it!
We...we do?
Carlos! Don't be so selfish.
How would you like to be
a tortoise roasting in the hot desert sun?
I wish you hadn't said that.
As I always say, "There's more than one way to beat the heat."
Oh, no! Oh, no!
(Ms. Frizzle) So this is what it's like to be a desert tortoise.
(Tim) Where are we?
In a tortoise burrow, an underground shelter.
It's a lot cooler down here.
Ahh. Good observation, Keesha.
Yes, another animal that can keep cool
without your help, Pheebolino.
But, Carlos, I just thought of something.
Maybe the reason we didn't see any animals
is because they all burned up before we got here!
I knew it. We're too late.
Whoa!
What's happening?
(Ms. Frizzle) Oh, class, the bus is now on automatic turtle.
(Dorothy Ann) We're being pushed
by another desert tortoise.
[howling]
[screeching]
Are we still in the desert?
Wow! What happened?
(Phoebe) The sun went down,
and the desert has totally changed.
Oh, Carlos, look! How sweet.
11, 12, 13, 14.
Hey! We weren't too late.
The reason we didn't see any animals
is because they were just waiting
for the sun to go down.
50 degrees Fahrenheit.
You don't have any sweaters in that knapsack,
do you, Arnold?
Once the sun goes down,
the air cools off.
Field Trip Tip Number 257:
To beat the heat, do like most desert animals--
come out only at night.
There you have it, Phoebe--
Another way desert animals help themselves.
It's OK, Phoebe. There's nothing wrong with being wrong.
As I always say, "Make mistakes.
Make mistakes. Make mistakes."
It's the best way to learn something.
But let's face it.
Students against Desert Scarcity is a bust.
OK, Carlos, OK. You don't have to rub it in.
I might have made a mistake about that lizard,
and I might have made a mistake about that jackrabbit,
and I even might have made a mistake about the tortoise,
but there's one thing I know I'm not wrong about.
How much you wished you'd stayed home today?
No, how much everything in the desert needs water.
You're telling me!
Thanks, Ralphie.
Phoebe!
Well, if no one's gonna help me give water
to all these poor little animals,
I'll just do it myself.
Phoebe, where are you going?
I said I was gonna give these poor animals water,
and I'm going to--
Phoebe, I know this may sound crazy,
but hear me out.
OK, Carlos, I'm listening.
These animals didn't need your protection
from being eaten
or from burning up in the sun, right?
Right.
They can cope, right?
Right.
Well, maybe they don't need your water, either.
Carlos! How can you say that?
You know there's no water in the desert.
You said so yourself--
rain shadow, remember?
But look at them. They couldn't live without water,
and they are definitely alive.
They must get it somehow.
OK, then.
If you're so smart, tell me how.
Come on, Carlos. Take chances.
Get messy. Make mistakes.
I...I don't know.
Exactly. Maybe people like me
come out here and give these animals water.
Maybe people like me
keep these animals alive.
Hey! At least save the water for the animals.
What are you talking about?
Didn't you just splash me?
Is that rain?
boom
Everyone back on the bus.
Rain?
In the desert?
It doesn't rain here very often, class, but...
As I always say,
"Not very often is a long way from never."
And the desert is a long way
from needing my water.
And we're a long way from the bus. Come on, Phoebe!
Doesn't it feel great?
Now we're talking water!
It's amazing.
We went from absolutely no water to...
Flood! Flood!
[snoring]
Good morning, class.
Everything's right as rain.
Huh? Where are we?
What happened to the desert?
Is this a dream?
No, phoebe.
It's the desert after a rainstorm.
(Wanda) Everything's changed! There's so much activity!
(Dorothy Ann) What happened to all the scarcity?
Look at all the plants and animals.
Desert life never ceases to amaze me.
Do you see what I see?
Flower power.
It's as if they were waiting for enough water to bloom.
There are shrimp in this puddle.
Shrimp in the desert?
Uh-huh. And pigs, too. Look!
Actually, that's a peccary,
a desert relative of pigs.
(Keesha) And that cactus is full of water.
According to my observations,
this piece of cactus is juicy on the inside
and waxy on the outside.
Hey! Maybe that waxy stuff keeps the water in.
As I always say,
"When it pours, the desert stores."
You know, Phoebe, you were right.
The desert does need water,
and the animals need protection
from being eaten and from the heat.
Yeah, but, Carlos, you were right, too.
They don't need us to help them.
They're already equipped to live here.
That's right, Phoebe.
Everything that lives here
has adaptations to help cope with life in the desert.
Come along, class. Back to the bus.
You mean soaking up water as quickly as possible
is an adaptation?
Absolutely correct.
And having spikes is an adaptation...
that helps keep you off the menu.
And burrowing under the sand...
and having big ears
is an adaptation for beating the heat.
Yes! All things that live here
have adaptations for survival.
Oh, it makes so much sense, doesn't it?
Field Trip Tip Number 999:
For those without desert adaptations,
always travel with a teacher with frizzy red hair."
Hmm...
Well, I have to say,
except for the part where we almost got eaten,
and the part where we almost burned up in the sun,
and the part where we almost drowned in a flood,
my field trip manual was really helpful.
So glad you enjoyed it, Arnold.
Well, now that I know that all these plants and animals
have adaptations to help them cope with living in the desert,
that gives me some time to save something else.
Phoebe, I don't think this--
I tell you, we've got to do something!
Phoebe, we just did something!
A whole bunch of somethings.
But this time, it really is an animal in need.
We'll call ourselves SASH.
SASH? SASH? SASH?
Students Assisting Sleepy Heads.
Carlos! Carlos!
[snoring]
He obviously has no adaptations
to cope with desert field trips.
According to my research, Phoebe,
hibernation is an adaptation.
[laughter]
As I always say,
"If you can't take the heat, whoo, get out of the desert."
Is this "the Magic School Bus?"
"Magic School Bus?" "Magic School Bus?"
"Magic School Bus?"
I want the Magic School Bus.
(kids) I want the Magic School Bus.
[telephone rings]
[ring]
Are you sure the producer wanted this big cactus, Liz?
[ring]
I'd better go.
Me?
At my old school, kids never answered the phone.
Hello?
(boy) Is this "The Magic School Bus?"
Yes, but-- Good,
because, you see, I'm starting up a new group--
save our kangaroo rats,
and I want Phoebe to be president.
You do?
I mean, that's nice of you to say,
but kangaroo rats don't need to be saved.
You mean, they have adaptations that make it
possible for them to live in the desert, too?
Right. For instance, they may never take
a drink in their entire lives.
They can get all the water they need
from the seeds and plants they eat.
Well, do they have an adaptation
to help them cope with the short nights?
Short nights? Yeah.
Watching that show, you'd think that nighttime
lasted about 5 seconds.
Oh, well, we were a little short on time...
Uh-huh.
But just a little.
We wanted to show how desert animals come out at night.
It's an adaptation, you know.
Ok. Speaking of adaptations,
I don't know of any plant that grows from a seed
the instant it rains.
Look, when you have a lot of information to cover
in a half an hour, you don't have time
to wait for seeds to grow into plants,
but they do grow very quickly in the desert.
Did you want to see the desert in full bloom after the rain, or not?
Of course I did, and did you know
that cactus needles are really leaves?
Is that an adaptation? Yes.
Unlike leaves, needles don't lose any water.
And do you know what else?
Not all deserts are hot. Huh?
Even places that are very cold are called "deserts"
if they don't get enough rain.
Fascinating. Well, thanks for calling.
Wait. One more question.
Do you actually know Phoebe?
Yes. In fact--
Could you do me a favor?
Just tell her that I think she's the greatest.
Good-bye.
Maybe I should answer the phone more often.
beep beep
♪ Surfin' on a sound wave ♪
♪ Swingin' through the stars ♪
♪ Take a left at your intestine ♪
♪ Take your second right past Mars ♪
♪ On the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Navigate a nostril ♪
♪ Climb on the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Spank a plankton, too ♪
Take that!
♪ On our Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Raft a river of lava ♪
♪ On the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Such a fine thing to do! ♪
♪ So strap your bones right to the seat ♪
♪ Come on in ♪
♪ And don't be shy ♪
♪ Just to make your day complete ♪
♪ You might get baked into a pie ♪
♪ On the Magic School Bus ♪
♪ Step inside, it's a wilder ride! ♪
♪ Come on ♪
♪ Ride on the Magic School Bus ♪
Funding to purchase and make this educational production
accessible was provided by the U.S. Department of Education:
PH: 1-800-USA-LEARN (V) or WEB: www.ed.gov.