Science and its innumerable avenues of exploration led 23 Thomas County Central High School students to attend the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Regional Science and Engineering Fair Feb. 10 in Tifton.
Thirteen of these students earned a chance to represent TCCHS at the state-level competition: Dru Jones, Laney Mobley, Riley Ambrose, Lilian Oaksford, Laylen Hines, Kathryn Covington, Layla Staley, Even Roberts, Kayden McClain, Caroline Westberg, Nayeli Badillo, Joleth Correon, and Claire Jones.
“I am extremely proud of all the students' hard work to prepare for region science fair,” TCCHS Science Department Chair Meagan Bradshaw said. “Students came prepared and ready for their judges' interviews.”
Freshman Claire Jones, 14, also won second place in the senior division (high school) for her project, “Don’t Be A Chicken.” Her experiment tested how various seasonings – salt, cinnamon, garlic powder and onion powder – would affect preserving a chicken thigh over five days. She hypothesized that salt and cinnamon would have the best results while the onion and garlic powders would be the least effective.
“I conducted my experiment by measuring the weight change of each piece of chicken,” Jones said. “Whichever ones lost the least amount of weight were coated with the best preservative, and whichever ones lost the most had the worse preservative.”
The youth feels honored at her region placement and acknowledges how her science courses enriched her project.
“My current biology class, as well as previous science courses, helped me during my project when I was conducting my experiments and finding my data,” Jones said. “However, my science teacher helped me the most by working with me to find the best ideas and methods for my project.”
Bradshaw, Jones’ Honors Biology teacher, said the student worked hard on her experiment.
“I was impressed with her diligence and scientific inquiry,” she said.
The Georgia Science and Engineering Fair is March 30 - April 1 in Athens.
“I will do more research to back up my claims,” Jones said. “I hope to win a high placement in those competitions as well and possibly advance to the national competition.”
