For the next few months, Christopher Rocci of Merced has quite a bit on his plate.

Although the 12-year-old seventh-grader was not a finalist in last week's Frankenweenie Science Fair in Southern California, he has an ambitious schedule ahead of him.

It includes competing in three Science Olympiad events; a robotics program at Hickman Charter School, through which Christopher is home-schooled; auditioning for a film; and trying out for a Playhouse Merced theater production.

He was one of six semi-finalists in the Frankenweenie Science Fair, held by Disney Studios and the Discovery Science Center. He entered a Rube Goldberg-like device that cooked a hot dog using a resistive heating process.

After the Frankenweenie competition, Rocci received four tickets to Disneyland, Frankenweenie staff T-shirts not available to the public, and VIP seating for the opening night screening of the "Frankenweenie" movie, produced by filmmaker Tim Burton.

Reporter Doane Yawger can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dyawger@mercedsunstar.com.