Common Sense Media Review
By Christy Matte
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
This deep sea dive is teeming with fish and education.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: The Magic School Bus: Oceans
What's It About?
In LEAPFROG EXPLORER LEARNING GAME: THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: OCEANS, Mrs. Frizzle's class is preparing for a parents' night. They must decorate the classroom with ocean facts. As expected, Mrs. Frizzle packs the kids into the Magic School Bus for a field trip to explore the ocean first-hand. Before taking off, kids design their own driver's license. Then they must fill up the fuel tank on the bus. They earn fuel by playing mini-games such as identifying marine creatures with certain features (a dorsal fin, eats other animals, has spots), acting out a food chain (chomping on animals lower in the food chain), and identifying a creature using just a flashlight in a dark space. When the bus has enough fuel, kids trace a series of shapes to help the bus navigate through the ocean. Kids will visit an intertidal pool, coral reef, continental shelf, open ocean, and deep ocean floor. At each location, they collect information about the four creatures present, including pictures, x-rays, information, and a close-up shot. In many cases, they need to use the clues to figure out which creature is the one to collect.
Is It Any Good?
LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: The Magic School Bus: Oceans has some great information to share with players about marine life and why a creature might have certain characteristics. Kids may find they are employing a lot of trial and error to complete tasks as information isn't always presented before it appears in a game. Kids will also need to play a lot of mini-games to save up enough fuel to move between locations. LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: The Magic School Bus: Oceans is best for kids who already have an interest in marine life. It's a great way to learn more about the ocean and build on pre-existing knowledge.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about field trips. How are Magic School Bus field trips different from regular school trips?
Families can also talk about how video games make learning fun.
Game Details
- Platform : LeapFrog games
- Subjects : Science : animals , ecosystems and the environment , life cycle , Language & Reading : following directions
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , thinking critically
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : LeapFrog
- Release date : June 14, 2012
- Genre : Educational
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Animals ( Ocean Creatures ) , STEM
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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