Microsoft's Magic School Bus CD-ROM series continues to leverage on Music Pen's technology and expertise

Business Wire, Oct 9, 1996

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 1996--New York-based Music Pen(R) Inc. is proud to unveil its latest addition to the critically-acclaimed Magic School Bus CD-ROM series, Scholastic's The Magic School Bus(R) Explores in the Age of Dinosaurs, now available from Microsoft Corporation.

Inspired by Scholastic's award-winning PBS TV and book series, The Magic School Bus CD-ROM titles continue to leverage on Music Pen's state-of-the-art MPen Technology(TM) and wacky multimedia game- play to make science education an interactive, fun-filled adventure for kids ages 6-10.

Driving the "dino-bus," kids lead the irrepressible Ms. Frizzle and her class through seven prehistoric locations set in the three time periods of the Mesozoic era to find and snap pictures of the missing dinosaurs and reptiles from Ms. Frizzle's photo album. While time-traveling, kids play games and activities that teach scientific concepts such as the distinctions between dinosaurs and living reptiles, the relationship of modern-day birds to their dinosaur ancestors and the nature of extinction.

MPen Technology fueling the fun

Leveraging on the strength of its proprietary, integrated authoring language and specialized multimedia engines, Music Pen has once again created a dynamic adventure certain to tap into the natural curiosity of children. The beautifully designed backgrounds--complete with ambient sounds--the morphing 3D "dino-bus," 20 multimedia science reports and 7 multi-level games will keep kids actively exploring the product again and again. Moreover, studio-quality voices and MPen lip-synching technology bring the Friz, Liz and classmates to life. Music Pen's closed-caption technology makes the title more accessible for the hearing-impaired player.

Winner of national parenting award

Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores in the Age of Dinosaurs has just received the Gold Award for Elementary Software, by the National Parenting Publications Awards, recognizing outstanding products that enrich children's educational and entertainment experiences. The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body received the 1995 Codie Award and The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean was a finalist for New Media's Invision Award of Excellence this year.

A long history of The Magic School Bus CD-ROM series involvement

Music Pen has been collaborating with Microsoft on The Magic School Bus CD-ROM series since the 1994 flagship product that took kids inside Arnold's body. Along with today's dinosaur adventure, the company has also completed Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean and Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth. Each one is currently ranked among the top-20 best-selling kids educational titles (PC Data, 1996 calendar year- to-date). Music Pen has also localized selected titles into French, Italian and Spanish.

Nearly 10 years old, Music Pen Inc. is one of the world's leading independent interactive technology and content creators for the consumer market. The company is establishing digital content across the bandwidth spectrum.

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Scholastic and the Magic School Bus are registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

CONTACT: Francine Hermelin

ph: 212-807-9608, ext. 71,

or francine@musicpen.com.