Hastings College hosted the Central Region Science Fair of the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences (NJAS) March 8.
The fair drew 165 students from across central Nebraska, with five projects from the junior and senior divisions being selected to move onto the state science fair on April 21 at the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska.
The Junior Division is open to students in sixth through eighth grades, while the Senior Division is open to those in grades nine through 12.
Top Senior Division projects from the state competition will qualify for the National Science Fair in Washington, D.C. Three of Nebraska’s national qualifiers last year were from the Central Region competition held at Hastings College.
The 2016 Central Region State Qualifiers include:
Junior Division
- Shayna Carson – Hastings Middle School – “The Optic Effect on Gustatory Cells”
- Abe Schroeder – Ravenna – “Orange Juice vs. Sports Drinks: Which Contain More Electrolytes”
- Taylor Lockling – Hastings Middle School – “Sugar: The Tooth Destroyer”
- Katelyn Cecrle – Hastings Middle School – “Effect of Miracle-Gro Organic Fertilizer on Germination of Chia Seeds”
- Drew Bolling – Ravenna – “Physics of Cheating With a Corked Baseball Bat”
Senior Division
- Colton Drage – Central City – “The Effect of C4 Pre-Workout on Odontotaenius Disjunctus Pulling Ability”
- Amanda Macke and Jasmine Wilson – Central City – “The Effect of Multi-Generational DEET Exposure on Drosophila Melanogaster Sensitivity to DEET”
- Allison Kohl – Central City – “The Effect of Gabapentin on Dugesia Tigrina’s Nervous System After Forced Split Reproduction”
- Katrina Gomez – Central City – “The Effect of Nitrates, Well Depth, and Well Location on Uranium Levels”
- Max Winkler and Garrett Furrow – Adams Central – “Does Clove Oil Kill Bacteria?”
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report, a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review and a “Best Bang for the Buck” school by Washington Monthly. For more, go to hastings.edu.
