Waiting for the school bus is never fun, unless The Magic School Bus is pulling up to the stop.

Fun and adventure in education are sure to be behind the doors of this bus.

As part of the Iowa State Center’s 1997-98 season theme, Destinations, The Magic School Bus’ next stop will be “Arnold’s Favorite Field Trip,” in Ames this weekend.

“This is our family show,” Shelly Tonderum, performing arts coordinator at the Iowa State Center, said. “We chose [The Magic School Bus] because we are trying to expand family programming.”

Touring from New York, the bus will be bringing the wacky and lavish teacher Ms. Fizzle, her “reptilian sidekick” Liz, Arnold and his classmates Carlos, Dorothy Ann, Keesha and Wanda. They will be ready to take everyone for an adventurous and educational field trip.

As Ms. Fizzle leads the class on a trip to the Walkerville bridge dedication, “the class accidentally gets shrunk into the size of popsicles,” Tonderum said.

After being shrunk, the class has a miniature adventure in Arnold’s pantry. Here they must use what they have learned about building bridges to build one of their own to escape through a window — and over a banana cream pie.

“The learning element is learning how to build bridges,” Tonderum said.

The audience will have a chance to build bridges of their own at the Celebrity Cafe before the show.

With the assistance of engineering students and the Iowa State Center staff, kids will “be able to build bridges out of gum drops and toothpicks,” Tonderum said.

“They will learn how to test strength and learn the best way to [utilize bridges] to get out of places,” she added.

“It is a high-quality show,” Tonderum said. “[The Magic School Bus] is shown on PBS and has a connection with Scholastic.”

The Magic School Bus will be roaring into Ames Sunday and stopping at Stephens Auditorium. There will be two afternoon performances at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. with the pre-show activity beginning one hour before each performance.

Another pre-show activity will be held at the Iowa State University Bookstore with a special Magic School Bus storytime Saturday at 10 a.m.

Tickets are $5, $6 and $7 for ISU students and $10, $12 and $14 general admission.

Tickets are still available through the Iowa State Center Ticket Office and all TicketMaster locations.