Texas clock boy fields offers from White House, Twitter, MIT
Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield invites Ahmed Mohamed to science show in Toronto
Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas teen who was arrested and released with no charges after teachers thought his homemade clock resembled a bomb, has been inundated with messages of support and offers to visit the White House, the MIT astrophysics facility and the Facebook campus.
The 14-year-old's story was posted by the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday evening. By lunchtime Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama was tweeting about him.
Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great.
—@POTUSThe White House later invited Ahmed to Astronomy Night at the White House on Oct. 19 to meet some astronauts and government scientists, said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.
Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield also invited Ahmed to a science show in Toronto next month.
NASA astronaut Daniel Tani offered Ahmed the shirt off his back.
Looks like Ahmed might need a new NASA shirt. I can give him one of mine - that flew in space! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithAhmed?src=hash">#IStandWithAhmed</a> <a href="http://t.co/I5aluiw24C">pic.twitter.com/I5aluiw24C</a>
—@Astro_TaniAnd an anonymous donor has paid for him to attend space camp at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Creative minds are always welcome at Space Camp, and we appreciate donors who help them come. Someone has provided a scholarship for Ahmed.
—@SpaceCampUSAAhmed – NASA ♥ your shirt! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JourneyToMars?src=hash">#JourneyToMars</a> needs inspired kids like you. Keep doing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASATech?src=hash">#NASATech</a>! <a href="http://t.co/HvVH5xoYof">http://t.co/HvVH5xoYof</a> <a href="http://t.co/YOZKO8J7ky">pic.twitter.com/YOZKO8J7ky</a>
—@Space_StationThe tech world showed its support for Ahmed as well, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg inviting him to take a tour of the social network's Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters.
Not to be outdone, Twitter went a step further and offered him an internship.
Hi <a href="https://twitter.com/IStandWithAhmed">@IStandWithAhmed</a>, we 💙 building things at <a href="https://twitter.com/twitter">@twitter</a> too. Would you consider interning with us? We'd love it — DM us! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithAhmed?src=hash">#IStandWithAhmed</a>
—@twitterTechnology giants General Electric and Autodesk also extended invitations to the Texas teen.
Google got in on the act, too.
Hey Ahmed- we're saving a seat for you at this weekend's Google Science Fair...want to come? Bring your clock! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandwithAhmed?src=hash">#IStandwithAhmed</a>
—@googlescifairTop U.S. schools are singing Ahmed's praises. In an interview on MSNBC, he called the Massachusetts Institute of Technology his "dream school."
Host Chris Hayes had a surprise for him. MIT physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joined the conversation live to invite him check out the school's astrophysics facility.
"I just want to say, you are my ideal student," she said. "A creative, independent thinker like you is the kind of person who should be becoming a physicist."
As well, Ahmed received an invitation to visit the telescope lab at the University of Texas at Austin.
<a href="https://twitter.com/IBJIYONGI">@IBJIYONGI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IStandWithAhmed">@IStandWithAhmed</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/anildash">@anildash</a> Absolutely! Ahmed, there are a bunch of people here in Austin who would love to talk astro & physics!
—@niaisAt a news conference Wednesday, Ahmed said his three-day suspension from school still stands, despite the fact police didn't lay charges.
"I'm transferring schools so it doesn't matter," he said.
When asked which school he would be attending, he said "any other school."
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AhmedMohamed?src=hash">#AhmedMohamed</a> says he's not upset by lack of apology. Thrilled by social media support. <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCDFW">@NBCDFW</a> <a href="http://t.co/cYrboSPCmy">pic.twitter.com/cYrboSPCmy</a>
—@KenKalthoffNBC5