Over twenty years years ago at Pennington Primary, the entire school had gathered to witness the grandest honour that could be bestowed upon any South Australian school, a visit from interactive science presenter Deane Hutton.
As Deane warmed up the crowd with overflowing beakers, ping-pong balls on mousetraps and a gloriously thick moustache, a year 5 boy named Aaron McLaren from Mrs. Houlouhan’s class sat in awe.
A few minutes later, Deane asked the crowd ‘would anyone like to be my assistant for this next experiment?’ knowing full well that every single child would raise their hand, you ain’t slick Deane. Motioning to Aaron ‘Yes, you young man, please come up here and help’ Deane unwittingly just created the pinnacle of Aaron’s life.
“It’s the moment that started my passion”
Aaron spent five minutes in front of the whole school standing on an upside down desk supported only by balloons. Amazingly none of the balloons popped because of science.
Aaron hasn’t done much with his life since that point, however speaking with unpaid Adelaide Mail interns Aaron stated that moment sparked his lifelong passion.
‘In Science?’ responded Aaron ‘No. In standing on desks and tables supported entirely by balloons. That’s my passion. It’s what drives me to get out of bed each morning. Everyday I go to the dining room, blow up around 40 balloons, turn the table upside down on them, then just stand there for about ten or fifteen hours. I owe it all to Deane’.
Riveting.
