EP Student Tests Cool Idea

An Eden Prairie middle school student had a cool idea. She wanted to know if bubbles could keep your bath water warm. So, she tested it. It became her science fair project and it took her to the national stage. She was one of 30 finalists in a huge national science competition!

Her name is Carolyn Jons. She's a student at Central Middle School. She came up with a way to test bubbles floating in a bathtub or whirlpool to see if they have the ability to keep that water warm. She looked at different size bubbles and developed an experiment to test which size acted as a better insulator.    

Jons showed off her project at the Twin Cities Regional Science Fair where she won honors with her science project and research paper at the University of Minnesota in February. The following month, she won additional awards at the Minnesota Academy of Science Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair in Bloomington.

6,000 middle school students were nominated from regional and state science fairs across the nation to compete nationally. From there, 300 students were selected as Semi-finalists. 30 were chosen as finalists. Jons made it the entire way.

The national competition was in Washington D.C. from September 30 - October 4, 2011.

First place was worth $25,000 and went to a student in California. Second place was worth $10,000 and went to a student in Pennsylvania. And third place, worth $5,000, went to a student in Texas.

Although Jons didn't place at the national level, she did confirm that bubbles do in fact prevent heat loss. She did not find a significant difference in the insulating ability of small versus large bubbles.

Jons hopes to one day enter the field of Neurology. She says she's drawn to neurology because of the many fascinating medical conditions neurologists treat.