The Magnetic Mambo
Season 1 Episode 5
Themes: Working Together
Prominent Characters
Ralphie
A student in Ms. Frizzle’s class, Ralphie appears frustrated when the preparations for his variety show aren’t going well, but the field trip to a magnetite cave gives him new inspiration for a dance act.
Ms. Frizzle
In this episode, Ms. Frizzle encourages the class to work together just like the atoms do in magnets.
Plot Highlights
- Ralphie is working on putting together a variety show, and three other members of the class want to be in it doing dance acts. He’s concerned that three separate dance acts won’t be enough “variety” for a variety show, so instead they start thinking about doing a dance act together as a troupe.
- Looking for dance troupe inspiration, Ms. Frizzle takes the group inside Ralphie’s whistle to see how the electrons spin around the atoms. Shrunk down to the size of the atoms, the class observes how the electrons spin in different directions. Back in the auditorium, the group tries a dance inspired by these atoms, but they lack coordination as they spin around and they end up bumping into one another and destroying the set.
- Ms. Frizzle takes the class to a magnetite mountain in order to show them a more coordinated dance of atoms for inspiration. They enter a cave tunnel in the mountain and shrink down again to enter the magnetite. They see the electrons spinning in a uniform way around the neatly positioned atoms, and they learn how this helps the magnetite be magnetic.
- The class realizes that their bus rolled away deep into the mountain and fell off a ledge while they were shrunk down. They individually brainstorm ways to lift it back up, but when they don’t come to any successful ideas, Ms. Frizzle suggests they try working together like the atoms in the magnet.
- The class forms a human chain, but they can’t quite reach the bus to lift it back up. Then, Ralphie realizes they could take advantage of the magnetic magnetite to pull the bus up, and they mine magnetite from the cave’s walls to form magnetic suits. As “human magnets,” they form the human chain again and are able to lift the bus to return home.
- For the variety show, the whole class performs together and dances on the ceiling using their magnetic suits to stick to it upside-down. The crowd cheers as the episode comes to a close.
Discussion Questions
This episode includes a theme of working together in groups. In the episode, the class is able to save their bus only when they work together, not when they were working individually. We encourage you to ask your child some of the following questions in your discussion.
- What happened when the class realized their bus had gone over the ledge? How did they try to get it back? How did they successfully get it back? Do you think they could’ve done this alone?
- Can you think of a time when you worked together with a group to get something done? What did you do together? What do you think would have happened if you hadn’t worked together?
This episode also covered the scientific concepts of magnetism and atoms. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned in this episode, and consider exploring some of the following resources if they are interested in the topic:
- Learn more about how magnets work in this Youtube video from Learning Junction.
- Explore the basics of atoms in this Youtube video from Peekaboo Kidz.
- Consider trying some of these hands-on magnet activities at home
