The Magic School Bus is an American Saturday morning animated television series based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole. It is notable for its use of celebrity talent and combining entertainment with an educational show, according to an article in Animation World Magazine by Annemarie Moody incorporating an interview with Executive Producer Deborah Forte. Broadcasting & Cable said the show was "among the highest-rated PBS shows for school-age children." In 1994, The Magic School Bus concept was made into an animated series of the same name by Scholastic Studios , and... premiered on September 10, 1994. Forte says that adapting the books into an animated series was an opportunity to help kids “learn about science in a fun way”. Around that time, Forte had been hearing concern from parents and teachers about how to improve science education for girls and minorities. Each episode of the show ran about 30 minutes. In the United States, the show originally aired on PBS, through South Carolina's SCETV network; it was the first fully animated series to be aired on PBS. The last episode aired on December 6, 1997, when the series stopped production.
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