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Lynn 5th Graders Earn Surprise Trip To Disney World

LYNN (CBS) - A special project done by a Lynn elementary class has earned them a special trip.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports

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Brickett Elementary's 5th grade class thought they came to Lynn English High School Friday morning to see a play.

Instead, they were brought on stage and told they were one of 20 national finalists for Disney's Planet Challenge.

Then, Mickey Mouse suddenly came out on stage.

That's when they found out they had actually won the grand prize - four days, three nights at Disney World.

Donna Whalen's class came up with the project "Think Before You Idle," which was an effort to decrease needless vehicle idling in Lynn.

"We are on a very busy street. There's a lot of cars that idle around our school. So we said 'How does that affect our environment?'" Whalen told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.

They pushed a local initiative and now cars can no longer idle outside Lynn schools, reducing pollution.

"They actually presented it in front of the state legislator to pass a bill into legislation to take idling from five minutes down to three minutes. They created an entire awareness campaign and got the community engaged and it was just incredible," Disney's Christiana Maretens told WBZ.

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