This article is from page 11 of the 2006-02-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
A LITTLE Clare girl, who celebrates her twelfth birthday tomorrow, feels like all her birthdays have come together.
Caroline Kelly from Lissycasey has been chosen from thousands of entrants to the FÁS Science Challenge Competition. The lucky youngster will be part of a team of 15 who will receive a place on a five day training programme at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.
They will train to be part of a space mission crew, learn about space food, learn about GPS systems and launch an air weather balloon.
The winners will also learn about the role of robotics in space and on Earth amongst many other activities.
Caroline entered the competition for the trip – which will take place in March – under the supervision of her teacher, Gearoid O’Sullivan at Lisseycasey National School.
When she got the letter telling her she had won, “our teacher gave us the night off homework,” said Caroline.
Caroline said she “doesn’t know” what she wanted to do when she grew up but she was “really excited” about the trip.
Her mother, Rita is just as excited as she will be going with Caroline on the all expenses paid adventure.
“We’re just delighted for Caroline. It’s a marvellous chance for her,” said Rita.
The rest of the family – dad, Vincent, three sisters and a brother – will all be cheering her on from home.
“We’ve always talked about going to the States and now it’s all arranged. My credit card is ready and waiting for shopping action,” said Rita.
This is the second time someone from Clare has won this prize. In 2004, a student from Ardnacrusha made the trip.
The FÁS Science Challenge competition required applicants to complete a series of multiple choice questions aimed at getting children to realise the importance of science in our world.