It was a true surprise for Tapp Hancock of Owens Primary, a veteran teacher of 29 years.

"I didn't think I got the grant," said Hancock.

But she did and now Hancock has one thousand dollars for her project called "Science with a Twist."

"Basically the kids are going to research, depths and complexities of topic want to do," explained Hancock.

Here's the twist:

Instead of just taking a book and learning from it, Hancock will use her grant to buy flipcams and tape question and answer sessions.

"It's kind of fun. It's going to be like the Tonight Show," said Hancock. "They can look at each others interviews and learn from that instead of traditional ways."

It's that type of creativity that gives these brainy kids new challenges in the classroom.

"Regular school is sometimes real easy. GATE is harder," said Anoki Patel.

"She kind of helps us learn new things in a fun way," added Blake Grider.

Kids will display their projects at the GATE fair next spring.