The School Sets served as the original setting for Barney & Friends from Season 1 until Season 6 (1992-2000). Despite the continuity of the series remaining the same, the look of the school changed throughout the seasons. For the first two seasons of the TV Series, the school set was located at ColorDynamics at Greenville Avenue & Bethany Drive in Allen, Texas, for Season 3, the school sets were relocated to the The Studios (now named Mercury Studios) in Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, U.S. with the addition of the new treehouse building set and some more changes and look evolution, and for Season 4, still in the same studio building Season 3 was filmed on, the set it was redesigned and renovated to have it take place at the new school and treehouse building with the new design and look in the next new location until Season 6.
An early version of the School Sets debuted in Barney Goes to School, with some props being used later for the series.
Season 1 (1992)[]
The playground is at its smallest and most basic in the first season and comprises of a swing set with a slide and a sliding pole. On the other side is a tire swing, a tree stump, and a bench.
Inside the school, the classroom is fairly small, taking on an almost homemade appearance (many of its materials are created for use in actual schools and are therefore store-bought). The chalkboard often had a short phrase related to the episode's theme written on it.
Chalkboard Phrases[]
Below is a list of phrases that were written on the chalkboard in Season 1 (with episode titles in parentheses):
- Today is imagination day. (The Queen Of Make-Believe)
- We are learning about families. (My Family's Just Right For Me)
- Today is Safety Day. (Playing It Safe)
- Today is exercise day. (Hop To It!)
- Today is Healthy Food Day. (Eat, Drink And Be Healthy!)
- Today is colors and shapes day. (The Treasure Of Rainbow Beard)
- Sharing is fun! (Caring Means Sharing)
- Today we talk about fears. (What's That Shadow?)
- ? (Happy Birthday, Barney!)
- We Love BARNEY (Alphabet Soup!)
- How do we take care of the earth? (Our Earth, Our Home)
- Mother Goose rhymes are fun! (Let's Help Mother Goose!)
- Friends are special. (Be A Friend)
- Today we study insects. ("I Just Love Bugs")
- Today is career day. (When I Grow Up...)
- We study our five senses. (1-2-3-4-5 Senses!)
- Our school concert is this week. (Practice Makes Music)
- Today we learn about our neighborhood. (Hi, Neighbor!)
- We can count to ten. (Carnival Of Numbers)
- Today we share our feelings. (Oh, What A Day!)
- Homes are where we live. (Home Sweet Homes)
- Today we learn about Mexico. (Hola, Mexico!)
- Everyone is special. (Everyone Is Special)
Gallery[]
.jpg "Barney playground Season 1 (2).jpg (54 KB)")
Season 2 (1993)[]
The playground was made larger in the second season, removing the swing set, bench, and tire swing. In their place is a new platform playset with a suspension bridge.
The classroom was also enlarged, with the furniture and supplies closer to the walls. The walls were repainted in a darker gray color.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Season 2 (1).jpg (69 KB)")
Season 3 (1995-1997)[]
The playground is once again given a complete overhaul. A lookout platform was added to the playset, and in Barney's Talent Show, the entire platform was turned backwards in its position and moved further from the school.
The classroom was once again enlarged, and a large platform was added to the back right corner. Fluorescent lights between the walls and the ceiling were added, and the Treehouse was incorporated into the set.
It was first seen in the 1994 documentary, Barney Celebrates Children.
Seasons 4-6 (1997-2002)[]
The school doors were repainted from orange-brown to green; the windows have a green trim rather than white, and the school now has a wheelchair ramp. Unlike previous seasons, the classroom is no longer arranged by centers.
The playground had more plants added to it, as well as a bench surrounding a tree (with the aforementioned bench being added after Barney's Musical Scrapbook). The original fences were replaced with green rail fences.
The Treehouse was also updated once again, adding more details like a slide and a lookout.
Demolition[]
In April 2000, the setting was scrapped after filming on the last 2 Barney Home Videos, Barney's Beach Party, and Round and Round We Go, the very last home videos to fully use and utilize the sets, were completely finished. It was announced in February 2001 by Lyrick Studios that the show would soon take place at Barney's House.
But later that month, however, the plans were ultimately changed. HIT Entertainment bought the franchise and shortly afterwards, the show's setting evolved into The Park when production on the series moved to the new studio in Carrollton, Texas starting in June 2001.