The Magic School Bus Human Body Lab {Review}

We love The Magic School Bus in our house. The videos, the books, the games, and now the labs! We had the opportunity to check out The Magic School Bus Human Body Lab, and we found out it was jam packed full of ideas, activities, and manipulatives. Come find out what we learned about, what we liked, and what we wished was a little different.

What The Magic School Bus Human Body Lab Includes

First of all, the lab comes in an adorable Magic School Bus of your own. My kids really wanted to ride in it. (I just realized that I have Ms. Frizzle in the back of the bus. Oops!)

Inside, there are 20 cards with facts and activities. Each card walks you through what you’ll need for the activity (whether you have it all in the kit or if you need some things from home), instructions for doing the activity, and an answer key when appropriate. Besides the cards, there are pieces for making a human skeleton, pieces for a model of a knee, pieces for a lung model, pieces for a fingerprinting activity, a set of window clings, a poster, a data notebook, and more! There was really quite a bit crammed into the bus. I was surprised!

What We Liked

My boys were most excited about the building of the skeleton. I have to admit that the fact that the kit included one was one of the reasons I was excited about reviewing this lab as well. While some of the pieces required some finagling, the end result was a really nice, but not overly big model of the human skeleton. I could definitely see this coming into play when school focuses on the body.

I really liked the instructions on the cards, as well. I felt like they made it very easy to follow what to do (especially if you had no idea how to do it). I also appreciated how things were labeled according to card number so that you could easily get to the items you needed.

I also liked how many activities were included in the lab. We spent a morning playing with the lab and it was definitely a more than one day lab, which I think is great! That way we can pick and choose what is interesting to my kids now and come back when they are ready for more. Also, it means we can try some of these experiments more than one time, especially as the kids grow in their understanding.

What We Wish Was A Little Different

I really liked the activity that had to do with the window clings. The idea was to match the organ with body and then label the system it was a part of. However, despite our best efforts, including the suggestions on the card itself, we could not get the clings to layer on top of each other. We could get maybe two to stay up at a time. We ended up building it next to the body and approximating where it was, but I so wish that it would have stuck better.

I also wish the bones of the human skeleton locked into place a little more firmly. The shoulder bones in particular, along with some of the connection of the ribs to the spine, keep popping off and requiring adjustments. Perhaps it should not be treated as a toy, but I want my boys to be able to explore the model not just look at it. The other bones seem to be keeping their places, though.

Overall Impression

Overall, I really liked The Magic School Bus Human Body Lab. There was much to learn and do, and with the Friz, you just can’t go wrong. Even with the little things I wish were a little different, I still would highly recommend this kit. As for age range, I think probably a 1st-3rd grader would get the most of it. Be sure to check out the Young Scientists Club to order one of your own.