Two Whanganui students Boston bound

SMART KIDS: Sidney Filer, left, and Reuben Stedman who will soon be travelling to Boston for the Clubhouse Teen Summit. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

Thirteen-year-old Sidney Filer has never left New Zealand - he's never been on an aeroplane.

But on July 24 he and fellow student Reuben Stedman, 15, are off to the United States to represent New Zealand at the Clubhouse Teen Summit in Boston.

The two boys are members of Awa City Clubhouse, an out-of-school learning environment for 10-18 year olds, where members can make their own music video, design their own website, make a robot, do animation, and lots of other fun stuff.

Clubhouse is a worldwide network, and every two years a Teen Summit is held in Boston, attended by 300 club members from every Clubhouse in the world.

"I've never been on a plane so I'm looking forward to it," Sidney said.

Clubhouse coordinator Masina Kenworthy said the summit was open to every Clubhouse member. Applicants had to submit a CV, a cover letter and answer set questions, just like a job interview. They also had to submit specifications for three projects they had been working on through the Clubhouse.

Sidney had submitted videos and designs while Reuben had submitted robotic designs.

"We were chosen because we're active members of the club. We both spend a lot of time here," Reuben said.

Ms Kenworthy, who will travel to Boston with Sidney and Reuben, said during their week in Boston the boys will live on the University of Boston campus. They'll attend the conference, go to a careers expo and even visit Google's Boston headquarters.

They will also take part in workshops in their chosen field of interest, and will collaborate with other delegates on projects.

"It will be a really busy and intense week for them," she said.

This will be Ms Kenworthy's third trip to Clubhouse Teen Summit.

"It's really rewarding. I love watching the kids grown and make friends from around the world," she said.