Thursday, April 10, 2008

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

Apparently the Smithsonian is not. Kenton Stufflebeam, a 5th grader from Allegan, Michigan noticed that the "Tower of Time" exhibit at the Museum of Natural History referred to the Precambrian as the "Precambrian era", when "era" is not required after "Precambrian". He has been recognized by several media outlets, such as "The Today Show", for his spot-on correction.
It seems that young children, with the popularity of FOX's game show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", have lately been highlighted for their intellect-- something I think is very positive in a world where children and young adults are often portrayed negatively.
Kenton wrote a letter to the museum correcting the error. When they wrote back, he also noticed that they spelled his last name and his hometown incorrectly.
Talk about copy-edit the world!

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