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Is The Magic School Bus, of the The Magic School Bus franchise, actually magic? On one hand, it's called magic and does many things that science probably can't achieve. On the other hand, it is only called magic by either children, or people talking to children and it would be odd for a science-based educational series to have a major magic element.

So is The Magic School Bus actually magic, or has Clark's Third Law come into effect and it's just really advanced science?

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    its a tardis that took the shape of a bus, its control panel has some familar dohickys and watcha macallits – Himarm Mar 14 '16 at 14:27
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    Scholastic seem to be saying that exploration and science are where the real magic lies, rather than the bus itself. mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/… – Valorum Mar 14 '16 at 14:38
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    +1 for the new tag on a series that most of us probably read or watched at some point! – Skooba Mar 14 '16 at 16:40
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    Stop trying to ruin my childhood. – David Grinberg Mar 14 '16 at 18:19
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    As a corollary, was Mr. Wizard actually a wizard? – John Sensebe Mar 14 '16 at 18:53
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Yes, almost certainly.

In the "Call the Producers" segment at the end of Episode 3, the Producer explicitly notes that Ms. Frizzle can't get sick because...

...she's magic

at which point we see an inexplicable sparkle coming off of her image on the screen.

Since magic (real magic) is evidently a part of the Magic Schoolbus 'verse, I think it's more plausible to assume that the bus (and its driver) are able to function through the use of magic rather than requiring the need for a further scientific explanation for the abilities they present.

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    The YouTube video is borked for me: "This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated." – Conor O'Brien Mar 15 '16 at 3:20
  • @CᴏɴᴏʀO'Bʀɪᴇɴ Funny thing is, that video worked for me earlier today. Hopefully, being linked on Stack Exchange didn't trigger some auto-DMCA bots or something. – Thunderforge Mar 15 '16 at 3:37
  • The YouTube account owning the video has been terminated. – jpmc26 Mar 15 '16 at 3:54
  • @CᴏɴᴏʀO'Bʀɪᴇɴ - Sorted. Try it now – Valorum Mar 15 '16 at 9:26
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    @Thunderforge - Alas, that account is also now terminated. Whoever owns the rights to that show must really really hate us. – Valorum May 19 '16 at 22:30
3

Yes - It runs on magic gas:

Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane: hrruicane amgic gas

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