Special to the Journal
Houston County students won several awards at the 65th
Georgia Science and Engineering Fair held at the University of Georgia March
21-23. Forty-four students qualified for state by winning first place in the
region competition. At State, four won first place and 11 won special awards;
many more brought home second or third place awards.
The following are first-place state winners:
- From Bonaire Middle: Mitchell Groover and Daniel Hawthorne,
first place in their category for “The Helper,” and “Most Outstanding 7th Grade
Project.”
Their teacher sponsor, Janine Davis, commented, “I am veryproud of them! This is one of the most creative projects I’ve ever seen. They
designed and created a working windshield wiper for a motorcycle helmet, and
then tested it with a group of students to test the visibility. It was
awesome!”
- From Feagin Mill Middle: Emily Pickens and Justin Hall, first
place in their category and Emily also won the “Best Project in Chemistry in
the Junior Division.” Their teacher sponsor is Brenda Taylor.
Eleven students also won special awards at the state fair:
Bonaire Middle School: Ebonie Crittenden, Hannah Elliott,
Mitchel Groover, Daniel Hawthorne;
Feagin Mill Middle School: Morgan John Carr,
Adam M. Conway, Justin Hall, Emily Pickens, George Xu Liu;
Huntington Middle:
Scott Cummings; Northside Middle: Kaitlyn May.
According to the GSEF, the purpose of the projects is to
“inspire and encourage students to explore and investigate their world through
hands-on research.” Professional scientists, who look for both an attractive,
functional presentation and a project that contributes new information and
basic understanding about the topic, judge the students’ work.
Ann Williams-Brown, coordinator of science, served as the
director of the regional fair. The chairperson of the scientific review
committee was Laura Byrd, Houston County High science teacher. Jennifer Banks
of Warner Robins Middle served as the regional fair chairperson.
HHJ News
