WASHINGTON — Can you spit out the backward spelling of the word “mummification” in less than 2 seconds? That’s an example of what happens on NBC’s “Genius Junior” show a local fourth grader is set to appear on Sunday.
“It was really hard, but also fun,” Melody Harlan, 9, of Warrenton, Virginia, said of the program hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. “I am really impressed by him because I think he is a really cool actor.”
Melody goes to Greenville Elementary School in Nokesville, Virginia. She recently won the Fauquier County School Spelling Bee; last year, she won first place in a state mathematics competition.
That background helped prepare Melody for the show that quizzes kids, 8 to 12 years old, on what might seem like impossibly complex combinations of math equations, geography and spelling challenges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7E30AGlNLY
While Melody has the capacity for many activities — she is in Girl Scouts, ballet, competitive swimming, Kindness Club and drama club — Melody’s mom doesn’t know whether Melody is actually a genius because she is never been tested. But Melody was cast for Genius Junior when she was 8 and 9 when it was recorded.
“So we’re just figuring out: Oh! All kids aren’t like this?” Tina Harlan giggled.
Melody isn’t allowed to reveal how far she and her “Brainy Bunch” team progressed on the program. She thinks it’s interesting her teammates Tyler McHugh and Victoria Wenzke are both from Chicago.
“It was fun making new friends and experiencing this,” Harlan said. “The girl named Victoria, we became friends and we still get to talk to each other sometimes.”
The show’s contestants are said to be some of the brightest young minds in the country, but they’re still kids.
“I got nervous at some points,” Melody said.
When asked what her future holds, Melody responded: “When I grow up I want to be an Olympic swimmer, an artist, a chef and a math teacher.”
The “Genius Junior” episode Melody appears in is scheduled to air Sunday, Mar. 25 at 9 p.m.
