Nobel Prize Winning Physicist George F. Smoot Visits “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” Tonight

The smartest contestant in ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER? history takes the podium on the season finale airing Friday, Sept. 18 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. George F. Smoot is an astrophysicist and cosmologist whose work helped confirm the Big Bang Theory. A physics professor with the University of California, Berkeley and a Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Smoot won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 and was also awarded the Albert Einstein Medal in 2003.

With all these awards and accolades, can Smoot prove he is smarter than a 5th grader? Tune in to find out as he works his way up to the tenth question in an attempt to be the newest million-dollar winner!

Get Ready for a Star-Studded Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader

It  will be a star-studded season for the Fox hit, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, complete with Star Jones, among others. The kids will be there too. Wouldn’t it be cool if Fox came up with a game show called Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity, and had kids see if they were smarter than Paris Hilton, Brooke Hogan and Britney?

From Fox:

Kathy Ireland, Star Jones, Jennie Garth and Gene Simmons Play for Charity This Season

As summer vacation comes to a close, school bells are ringing across the country, and it’s time for a new batch of students, contestants and celebrities to take the $1 million challenge this fall on ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER? airing Fridays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Host Jeff Foxworthy returns to the head of the class to lead a new batch of 5th graders that will test their smarts alongside celebrity contestants competing throughout the season for their favorite charities. Season Three kicks off with supermodel Kathy Ireland and Georgia State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox going for the gold star in the special two-hour season premiere Friday, Sept. 5 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

Other notables attending class this season include TV personality Star Jones (“The View”), actress Jennie Garth (“Beverly Hills, 90210″), KISS front man Gene Simmons, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, zookeeper Jack Hanna and actor Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”). Also going for extra credit and hoping to reach the top prize of $1 million are astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson, “Jeopardy!” record-holder Ken Jennings and Nobel Prize Laureate George Fitzgerald Smoot III.

This season’s new class of 5th graders includes:

Bryce, 10, from Rockwall, TX, loves math and wants to be a lawyer or accountant when he grows-up.

Francesca, 10, from San Diego, CA, says science is her favorite subject and aspires to be a veterinarian or a missionary.

Jenna, 10, from Baltimore, MD, likes English and science and dreams of becoming a marine biologist.

Jonathan, 9, from Los Angeles, CA, considers lunch to be his favorite subject and wants to be a scientist or an inventor one day.

Olivia, 10, from Los Angeles, CA, loves history, art and wants to design video games when she gets older.

Idol’s Kellie Pickler’s Looking to Hire a 10 Year Old Tutor

If your kid’s not too busy, maybe they can earn a few extra bucks. I love American Idol’s Kellie Pickler, but it’s never been a secret that she is not exactly the brightest light in the chandelier. Check her out on “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader“:

<object width=”425″ height=”355″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ANTDkfkoBaI&hl=en”></param><param name=”wmode” value=”transparent”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ANTDkfkoBaI&hl=en” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” wmode=”transparent” width=”425″ height=”355″></object></embed>