HOLY CAMOLE: 'Storylords' premiered on Sept. 23, 1985, airing in classrooms and on PBS member stations.

From across the Rassbach Museum, I can hear the Storylords theme song. Immediately, I feel excitement pulse through my veins. I rounded corner after corner until finally, there it was: a 1980s-style classroom filled with all things Storylords. This grown woman was transported back to her living room floor, where many years ago she routinely settled in with her after-school snack to watch Norbert and Mandy conquer Thorzuul.

Storylords, a fantasy-based educational series and computer program that focuses on building reading comprehension for kids in second, third, and fourth grade, first premiered to classrooms and PBS member stations across the country on Sept. 23, 1985. Throughout the course of 12 15-minute episodes, viewers learned about topics such as activating prior knowledge, decoding words in context, story mapping, and identifying the main ideas and details. 

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And just like that, sparkles appeared over them and they were transported. It was magical.

What was Storylords all about? Well, two story lords, of course: Norbert and Mandy, two siblings and apprentices to the good Storylord Lexor (who very well could be Obi-Wan’s twin), who traveled to the planet of Mojuste to save its people from the evil Storylord Thorzuul and his sidekick Milkbreath.

While there, Norbert and Mandy had to solve a reading puzzle. If they failed, everyone would be turned to stone. To get to Mojuste, Norbert would put on his gold glitter gloves, then he and Mandy would ride the Bike-O-Tron and repeat the poem: Thunder and lightning, trumpets and drums, Readers rejoice! A Storylord Comes! 

And just like that, sparkles appeared over them and they were transported. It was magical.

“Storylords was one of many educational programs the UW-Stout Teleproduction Center produced,” said Ed Jakober, the show’s director who donated the production materials for the exhibit in Menomonie. “The decades of kudos and appreciation from kids, teachers, college professors, and parents (who) watched the show when they were kids – it's nice to have a positive impact on people's lives.”

But as fast as Norbert and Mandy were transported to Mojuste to defeat Thorzuul, the Storylords series came to an end.

Now, readers (and fans) rejoice, a Storylord comes back to where it all began in Menomonie, where it was created at UW-Stout with the help of its theater department. After being postponed for years, the exhibit was finally able to be unveiled in January 2022.

“Whether or not you have seen Storylords, the exhibit is a fun look at the Menomonie area in the 1980s," said Melissa Kneeland, executive director of the Dunn County Historical Society. "The show was filmed all through town and is a great snapshot of the community at that time."

Don’t miss your chance to be transported back to the Land of Mojuste.

The Storylords Exhibit at the Rassbach Museum in Menomonie is open now to the public. For more information visit dunnhistory.org.