Social media was ablaze with wild speculation about a fallen meteorite allegedly landing on the playground of a school in Far North Queensland, and NASA reportedly called in to investigate. But everything was not what it seemed.
A lot of anecdotes and theories surfaced online as people rushed to find more information. However, it was not long before the amateur astronomers were somewhat disappointed to discover the true, much more mundane origin of the “space rock.”
“We’ve gotten all kinds of questions from all over the world,” said Malanda State School director Mark Allen, before sharing the real news that the viral meteorite attack on the playground was actually a school project.
Allen described the exercise as one “a little fun” in which students from the school were asked “report” on a meteorite landing as part of an assignment that involved interviewing witnesses and emergency services on the spot, with someone allegedly deciding to take the initiative and take the matter all the way to NASA.
“The local police loved being involved with the school and the children to make it more realistic,” local resident Daniel Moss explained. “This is a small town, they were not expecting it [the school project] to go viral. “
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