By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

INDEPENDENCE - A different kind of March madness is in full swing at Kenton Elementary School, where two sets of twins are one win away from $40,000 and a U.S./Canadian science championship.

Caitlin Turner, Chloe Turner, Tanner Wellman and Trevin Wellman started as one of 272 teams from the United States and Canada in the kindergarten through third-grade division of the 2003 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards.

Nearly 4,700 teams and 15,000 students in four divisions competed.

Under the guidance of their teacher, Bev Ketron, the four second-graders are now one of six teams left in the science competition in their division, with $40,000 worth of savings bonds and a trip to Washington, D.C. on the line.

"I'm overwhelmed. I'm on cloud nine and haven't come down," said Ketron, who found the contest on the Internet. "This was heavy research for these kids. They're into learning and are very motivated."

The contest requires students to choose a technology from their everyday lives, as simple as a shoe or as complicated as a car.

Each team has to write a research paper on the history of the technology, how it works today, and how it could work 20 years from now.

The Kenton team submitted "The Perfect School Bus," which showed how a school bus in 2023 could be equipped for safety and fun.

"We got the idea from The Magic School Bus," said Trevin, referring to the series of children's books and videos.

"We thought we could do something better, but without magic," said Caitlin.

The 8-year-olds included lasers for the "danger zone" around a bus where the driver cannot see, a Global Positioning System for field trips, sensor seats that can alert the driver when a child gets up, an air filtration system, and an audio/video package to keep the children entertained.

They also included a handprint scanner that would identify each child entering the bus and contain information on each child for emergencies.

The team also had to design a Web site on paper for their project and submit it with their research. Now that they have reached the finals, they have to actually build the Web site as part of the final judging.

The final project has to be submitted by April 15. They are competing against five schools in New York, Virginia, Louisiana, Oregon and California.

"I think our project is really, really good and it's something true," said Caitlin. "We think we should win because of its safety."

They have already each won a digital camera for making the finals, along with a laptop computer for their school. If they don't win the top prize, they can still each win a $5,000 savings bond for second place.

The only Kentucky school to ever win one of the top two prizes was a high school team from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington in 1993.

"I think they're beginning to feel a little nervous and really want to win," said Ketron. "I told them if this is as far as this bus ride takes us, that's fine. They've done a great job."