Garfield first-grader to appear on 'Ellen'

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is scheduled to see if she can outsmart a Garfield Elementary School first-grader on her daytime show Thursday.

Brandt Bickford, 6, is scheduled to be on the nationally televised show "Ellen," which airs at 11 a.m. on KING-TV, Channel 5.

School administrators say they heard that Brandt caught the television show producers' attention after they saw him display his knowledge of solar system facts on the video-sharing Web site YouTube, district spokesman Peter Rex said.

A blurb about Thursday's schedule on the "Ellen" show's Web site says: "An expert in the Solar System at age 6? It's true! When it comes to the universe, this kid is smarter than you, me … and every single one of those brainy 5th-graders! I'm going to put his knowledge to a true test!"

Brandt and his family were in New York to tape the show on Wednesday, according to his teacher, Theresa Creamer.

Creamer said that she and her first-graders plan to watch the Brandt's segment today.

"He's very inquisitive, and likes to give facts and details," she said. "And he just devours books."

She said it didn't surprise her that he would agree to go on television.

"He's quite a character," she said.

Venice Buhain covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5445 or vbuhain@theolympian.com.