Henrico second grader wins 'Kalo' contest
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Echo Lake Elementary School second grader Haley Paciocco was one of four students in Virginia and California honored recently for submissions to a nationwide contest promoting healthy COVID-related habits.
The students were participating in the "Kalo the Hero" contest, based on a character created by Kelly Lambert, a behavioral neuroscientist and University of Richmond psychology professor. The UR professor developed Kalo the Hero, a cartoon raccoon whose superpower is science, as an inspiration to promote COVID safety and encourage healthy behaviors in kids.
“I got to thinking about how successful media campaigns can be used to modify behavior, and one of the most famous examples is the humanized forest animal, Smokey Bear,” Lambert said. “If this character could inspire fire safety, could there be a similar hero to keep school kids safe from COVID-19?”
Haley's winning entry, which consisted of a poem and picture about visiting the zoo post-pandemic, earned her a $300 gift certificate to purchase books for her classroom.
Lambert has been promoting Kalo in school systems and hopes to continue the Kalo initiative, which has been featured in Scientific American, after the COVID crisis to promote science education and healthy habits in children.
