kid scientists
kat...@earthlink.net
The No. 1 reason to be a kid scientist
Naperville Central High School students left school Wednesday
afternoon to find a stretch limousine waiting where the buses were to
be lined up.
But the long, black limo wasn't for them - it was waiting to take
Naperville School District 203's latest round of late-night TV stars
to the airport.
"Are we riding in that?" asked Kevin Suh, a Highlands Elementary
School fifth-grader who hopes to be a star in the next "Kid Scientist"
segment of the "Late Show with David Letterman."
Naperville Central High School science teacher Jaci Gentile and
retired Naperville North High School science teacher Lee Marek are
taking yet another batch of District 203 students to New York to
appear tonight on the CBS talk show.
It will be Marek and Gentile's 16th appearance. This time around,
they're bringing Highlands Elementary School fifth-graders Kevin Suh,
Jack Tolchin and George Lowery; Lincoln Junior High School
sixth-grader Stephanie Calero; and Kennedy Junior High School
eighth-grader Medhavi Bhasin, who went on the trip in December, but
was not selected to appear on the show.
Medhavi said she really hopes she's selected to be on the show this
time, but she's not nervous.
"As long as I know what I'm supposed to do, I'll be fine," she said.
For first-timers, though, the situation is a little more
nerve-racking.
"If you think about it, there are millions of people watching us, even
though there's only 50 people in the audience, and it's kind of big
thinking about it," George said. "Also, the tryouts, there's five
people going and three people get on the show. So it's like, 'Oh, am I
going to get on the show, or am I not going to get on the show?'"
Chance to meet celebrities
Those chosen three will perform experiments for Letterman - so the
group gathered May 7 in Gentile's Central classroom to practice the
various experiments they plan on demonstrating.
While students were assigned specific experiments, they all must learn
each one because no one knows what Letterman's producers will want.
When the students arrive at the studio today, they will audition for
the show's producers, who may like one kid's camera presence, but not
his or her experiment, or vice versa.
At past shows, students have met celebrities such as Cameron Diaz and
Samuel L. Jackson. This time, actor Luke Wilson and singer-songwriter
Rufus Wainwright are scheduled to appear on the show, and Homer
Simpson is slated to deliver the Top 10.
Regardless of whether they appear on the show, all the students will
get $200. They also will tour the studio and watch the taping.
During their down time, the students will take in as many of the sites
in New York as they can squeeze into their short trip.
"I've never been there before," Stephanie said. "So I'd like to see as
much as I can."
"The Late Show with David Letterman" airs at 10:30 tonight on CBS.
CBS2 in Chicago is The Naperville Sun's news partner.
kat...@earthlink.net
Dave, safety first on Late Show
In the end, the safety goggles got the most laughs.
Three Naperville School District 203 students donned them Thursday
when they appeared in the "Kid Scientist" segment of the "Late Show
with David Letterman." Letterman also put on a pair of brightly
colored goggles, and immediately began mining them for comedy.
"These are nice," he said to Highlands Elementary School fifth-grader
Jack Tolchin as he put on the florescent orange and yellow safety
specs. "Where'd you get these? LensCrafters?"
"Is this part of the experiments, or is this just some trick on me?"
Letterman later quipped when Tolchin's classmate, Kevin Suh, insisted
that Letterman continue to wear them during his demonstration of a Van
de Graff generator.
And, when Suh's demonstration ended without even a hint of danger,
Dave said, "I just want to say thank God for those safety goggles."
Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Letterman. It's all fun and games until some
Naperville student sets your face on fire.
Dave must have forgotten last May's "Kid Scientist" segment, when he
and Kennedy Junior High School sixth-grader Nate Weeks forgot to wear
safety goggles while simulating a grain elevator explosion - right
under Letterman's nose.
"For the rest of the thing I was like, 'Man, I almost burned David
Letterman's face off," Weeks said.
Thursday's appearance wasn't nearly as explosive.
Kennedy eighth-grader Medhavi Bhasin - who went on the trip in
December, but was not selected to appear that show - made the cut this
time around, and was supposed to supply some fireworks by setting fire
to methane gas confined to a tin can.
"It's not dangerous, normally," Bhasin said.
For some reason, though, the project fizzled during filming.
When the show returned from a commercial break, though, its producers
aired footage shot during rehearsals, when the demonstration worked
perfectly, and with a bright flash, the exploding methane gas blew the
bottom off the can.
Naperville Central High School science teacher Jaci Gentile and
retired Naperville North High School science teacher Lee Marek took
Tolchin, Suh and Bhasin to New York for the show's filming. Highlands
fifth-grader George Lowery and Lincoln Junior High School sixth-grader
Stephanie Calero also went on the trip, but were not selected to
appear on the show.
Marek and Gentile have taken District 203 students 16 times to New
York to appear in the "Kid Scientist" segment of the "Late Show with
David Letterman."
R H Draney
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>http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/393790,6_1_NA20_LETTERMAN_S1.article
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>Dave, safety first on Late Show
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>In the end, the safety goggles got the most laughs.
You've got electricity, you've got flammable gases, but when they put together
the slo-mo clip for the bumper, they choose the shot of Dave breaking a
yardstick with his hand....
How weird is *that*?...r
--
"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!"
"You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!"