Jake Tomer

March 18, 2018

Mrs. Steininger

Honors Biology

Magic School Bus Cell Story

It all started with what I thought would be a normal school day. Everything was normal

until I got to fifth period. When I got to fifth period, Mrs. Steininger told us that we were doing

a special activity. I had no idea what I was in for. I thought we would be doing a lab, but we

were doing something much different. We were told to go out to a bus and wait there. As we

were boarding the bus, we realized that the driver was Mr. Palcsey. After we sat down, Mr.

Palcsey flipped a switch and the bus began to shrink along with all of the class. Mr. Palcsey

announced, “hold on, it’s going to be a bumpy one” as he put The Chicken Dance on the bus’s

radio. We all had no clue what was going on, but next thing we knew we were in a huge ball

with many weird shapes floating around in it. We were all wondering what was going on until

Mrs. Steininger held up the peace sign and everyone was instantly silent except JB. Mrs.

Steininger explained to us that we had become so small that we were now in an animal cell.

Kailey raised her hand quickly and asked, “What is that wall on the edge of the cell?” Mrs.

Steininger responded, “That is the cell membrane, which surrounds the cytoplasm as well as

regulating what things go in and out of the cell.” The bus kept moving, and Tim asked, “What is

the cytoplasm?” Mrs. Steininger explained by saying, “The cytoplasm is this jelly-like substance

that contains the organelles.” JB added, “It contains the nucleus as well,” which was false. Ty

shouted, “Thank you JB!” and JB said “Alright Ty.” The bus kept moving, and Adam asked,
“What is that web-like structure that is connected to everything?” Mrs. Steininger hesitated in

her response, which allowed Aaron to chime in. Aaron said, “The cytoskeleton is a web of

proteins in the cytoplasm that holds organelles in place and keeps the cell membrane from

collapsing.” This was a perfect definition and after everyone screamed “Ticket” Aaron earned

himself a ticket for when we returned to class. The bus continued to move further into the cell

when Gabby noticed a couple of small, ball-shaped organelles that were moving. She asked

what they were, and Mrs. Steininger promptly responded that they were vesicles and they

move materials between organelles. As the bus kept moving, Mr. Palcsey changed the song to

Despacito. The bus approached another circular organelle, which prompted Kailey to ask what

it was. Bryce responded, “It is a vacuole, which stores water, nutrients, and minerals.” Mrs.

Steininger rewarded Bryce with a ticket, but it turns out Aaron had said the answer and Bryce

just repeated it louder to earn the ticket. Either way, Aaron let Bryce keep the ticket because

Aaron already had quite a few tickets back at school. The bus kept moving, and Kailey asked

another question. She said, “What is that large circular organelle with a smaller circle inside of

it?” Mrs. Steininger responded, “That is the nucleus, which contains the cell’s DNA. The circle

inside of is the nucleolus, which forms other organelles named ribosomes. The nucleus is the

control center of the cell.” The bus kept moving, as Mr. Palcsey was on a tight schedule because

he had a class sixth period. Everyone but JB noticed a large, weirdly shaped organelle. JB had

been facing the back of the bus, so he did not see the large organelle ahead. Mrs. Steininger

fielded many questions about the organelle while Andrew told JB to face the front of the bus.

Mrs. Steininger then held up the peace sign and said to the class, “That is the Rough

Endoplasmic Reticulum, which is a membrane system that manufactures proteins and lipids.”
Luke asked what the tiny circles on it were, and Mrs. Steininger answered by saying, “Those are

ribosomes. They are our smallest and most abundant organelle. They are made in the nucleolus

and they make proteins.” Andrew exclaimed “Nice!” very loudly for everyone in the class to

hear but for no apparent reason. The bus continued moving, and while we were reaching our

next organelle, Andrew noticed that I had on non-dress code socks. He said to me, “page 23 of

the student handbook says that all socks must be navy, black, brown, or white.” We then saw

another large organelle. Mrs. Steininger told us that it was the Golgi Apparatus, and this is

where proteins are sent from the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum. They are then modified,

sorted, packaged, and sent off in a vesicle. She called it to the post office of the cell. We then

approached a bean-shaped organelle. Everyone knew what this organelle was before Mrs.

Steininger told us. It was the mitochondria, otherwise known as the powerhouse of the cell.

The mitochondria breaks down sugar into energy and has two membranes and its own DNA. It

is easily the most fascinating and most popular organelle. We were nearing the end of our trip,

and we approached another large organelle. Jackson did not see this organelle because he was

watching Fortnite videos on the back of the bus. Mrs. Steininger said, “This is the smooth

Endoplasmic Reticulum. It makes lipids but does not have ribosomes as the Rough ER does.” We

were about to leave the cell when Kailey noticed a final organelle. She asked Mrs. Steininger

what it was and what it did. Mrs. Steininger explained by saying, “That is a lysosome. It digests

food particles and cell parts and destroys worn out or damaged organelles. It is a vesicle with

digestive enzymes.” As Mrs. Steininger was finishing her description, we left the cell. Mr.

Palcsey turned Gangnam Style off of the radio and flipped a switch. We began to enlarge and as

soon as we knew it, life was back to normal. We went back upstairs to the classroom, and it
turns out the bell had already rung, and Mrs. Steininger had to write everyone passes to their

next class.