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Lowndes County Public School students traveled to Auburn University Montgomery on Feb. 24 and competed in the Greater East Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair (GEARSEF). Two teams of students, under the direction of Central High School science teacher Lester Turk, received awards for their outstanding projects and one of those teams will advance to the Alabama State Science and Engineering Fair (ASEF) on April 1.

Central students Kaitlyn Price, Shandrea Robinson, and Crantasia Jordan earned the Department of Chemistry Senior Division Second Place Award for their project, “*Period Sis!” Two other Central High students were recognized and received the award, That’s Geography! Cultivating Empathy for the Earth, sponsored by National Geographic, for their project, “Hydro Gen. vs. Wind Gen.”

According to Lowndes County Public Schools Education Specialist Susan Butt, students from middle and high schools around the county worked on projects in groups. The two award-winning groups were both from Central High School, she explained.

“Thirty-three students traveled to AUM to showcase seventeen projects in the Junior and Senior Divisions of the fair,” Butts said. “All middle and high schools were  represented. As a result, two of our projects received GEARSEF awards. We are very proud of the teams who are both from Central High School.”

The competition followed the annual Lowndes County Science Fair, which featured around 40 project entries from students in grades 6-12 from Hayneville Middle School, Lowndes Middle School, The Calhoun School, and Central High School.

Lowndes County Schools Superintendent Jason Burroughs said science and engineering fairs are part of the system’s strategic plan and enhance students’ understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning because children can select the topic for their project and perform hands-on experiments.

“The projects help children develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills,” Burroughs said. “They also give students the opportunity to bring in some of their skills from English language arts because during the process, they have to write a report and answer questions by the judges. So, [participation] broadens their horizons. It helps them gain skills they’re going to need later in life.”

Price, Robinson, and Jordan progress to ASEF at Auburn University on April 1 to compete with their project against other students from around Alabama.