JSU students judge Blackburn Science Fair

The big banner at the entrance of Blackburn Middle School reads: “Failure is not an option.”

That didn’t appear to be a remote possibility at Blackburn’s Science Fair on Feb. 6 that Jackson State University students judged.

Students competing were from the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades, said Marian Howze, an 8^th grade science teacher who organized the fair.

Blackburn has been holding the science fair every year since “forever,” said Jamera Barnes, a 2^nd grade science teacher and 2008 JSU alumna. This is the second year that JSU has come on site to judge the Fair, Barnes said.

A dozen JSU students from the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) volunteered to judge the 21 students’ entries.

“We encourage students to help out at Blackburn Middle School. These students are our future,” said Dr. MarthaTchounwou,  director of the CSET Scholars Academy. It also counts as students’ community service, she added.

Godwin Ashley Dilibe Offiah, a senior in civil engineering from Jackson and vice president of the JSU chapter of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), said he and members of the American Society of Civil Engineers were happy to volunteer.

“SAME is interested in bringing awareness about engineering to middle and high school students,” Offiah said.

Apprehensive students stood by their entries, outlined on folding display boards, and were ready to answer questions from the judges.

One student, Alizandra Husband, 12, a 7^th grader, had her own cheering section. Her grandmother, Delores Crump, came to the school to watch the competition.

Entries ranged from How to Blow a Bigger Bubble, for bubble gum enthusiasts, to Peanut Power, or how much heat is given of in burning a peanut, to measuring the electrical conductivity of sports drinks versus orange juice, to determining the acidity of cabbage, to the effects of caffeine on germination and the growth of bacteria.

“They did really well,” said Jessica Kirkendoll, a member of the JSU Society of Women Engineers. “The students put a lot of thought into it.”

Kirkendoll, a sophomore in civil engineering from Meridian, might have had an edge in judging the entries. She has a degree in elementary education and taught elementary school for four years.

“I found that math and science is what I really loved,” she said, so she returned college. “And I’m still young, so I still have time,” said Kirkendoll, 29.

2015 Blackburn Laboratory Middle School Science Fair Winners

Biochemistry (Sixth Grade)

1^st Place:  Zhakia Richardson

2^nd Place:  Dialia Wooten

Category:  Chemistry (Sixth Grade)

1^st Place:  Jamaya Steele

2^nd Place:  Rose Randall

3^rd Place:  Kendarrius Smith

Category:  Biochemistry (Seventh & Eighth Grade)

1^st Place:  Alizandria Husband (Seventh Grade)

2^nd Place:  LaDarian Carter (Eighth Grade)

Category:  Chemistry (Seventh & Eighth Grade)

1^st Place:   Branford Phillips (Eighth Grade)

2^nd Place:  Deasia Barnes (Seventh Grade)

3^rd Place:   Danisha Powell (Seventh Grade)

Honorable Mention:  Jaden Smith (Seventh Grade)

Category:  Physics (Seventh & Eighth Grade)

1^st Place:   Amaje’ Williams (Seventh Grade)

2^nd Place:  Fabian Hill (Eighth Grade)

Jessica Kirkendoll, a member of the Society of Women Engineers at JSU, studies an entry by Alex Riley (standing) at the Blackburn Science Fair. (Photo by Charles A. Smith, JSU)