5th-Grader Finds Mistake at Smithsonian
Wed Apr 2, 5:54 PM ET

ALLEGAN, Mich. - Is fifth-grader Kenton Stufflebeam smarter than the Smithsonian? The 11-year-old boy, went with his family during winter break to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington. Kenton noticed that a notation, in bold lettering, identified the Precambrian as an era on the "Tower of Time" display.

Kenton knew that was wrong. His fifth-grade teacher, John Chapman, had nearly made the same mistake in a classroom earth-science lesson before catching himself.

"I knew Mr. Chapman wouldn't tell all these students" bad information", the boy told the Kalamazoo Gazette for a story published Wednesday.

So Kevin Stufflebeam took his son to the museum's information desk to report Kenton's concern on a comment form. Last week, the boy received a letter from the museum acknowledging that his observation was "spot on."

Excited as he was to receive the correspondence from museum officials, he couldn't help but point out that it was addressed to Kenton "Slufflebeam" and not Kenton Stufflebeam!