Ms. Frizzle is turning a crank lever to extend the forward end of the pole. Cuegan turned around on their seats so they can see it better. (They did that for the third time. If Ms. Frizzle had placed Cuegan closer to the tower they could have watched everything without turning time and again. However Ms. Frizzle was too excited about her presentation to think of such details, and Cuegan are polite and don't complain.)