Texas clock boy, Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested after teachers mistook his homemade clock for a bomb, met Barack Obama at the White House on Monday night.
The 14-year-old genius with the president during astronomy night – an annual event honouring science, space exploration and youthful endeavour – but left the clock that had sparked so many column inches at home.
US president Obama said “we have to watch for and cultivate and encourage those glimmers of curiosity and possibility, not suppress them, not squelch them.”
The president joined an international outpouring of support for the science-loving pupil, tweeting: “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.”
He took a selfie with John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut and Nasa’s associate administrator for the science mission directorate.
