North Callaway High School students Nikkya Sapp and Allison Blansett had a difficult time convincing their peers to take a whiff of their science experiment, but it turned out daring them to sniff the stink in the name of science worked.
The experiment, which tested the odor absorption of different forms of bedding in a mouse cage, was for the state's annual FFA Agriscience Fair. For the project, Sapp and Blansett tried four different beddings- pine shredding, pellets, shredded paper and Carefresh bedding with a baking soda additive.
Each bedding type was given a week and then Sapp and Blansett went around and asked 50 peers to rank the odor of the cage on a scale of 1-10. If students gave the cage a one, they determined the smell was in range to butyric acid, which is found in milk and milk products and makes the distinctive smell of vomit, according to the Human Metabolome Database.
"Some people were whimps because they didn't want to smell the cage," Sapp said.
The two averaged the scores to determine which bedding worked the best in absorbing odor and which was the worst. Sapp and Blansett used the data and determined that the pellet bedding was able to ward off the stink better than the other bedding. To show their findings, Sapp and Blansett created a presentation board and wrote a research paper about their project. During the state FFA competition they presented their findings to judges and answered outstanding questions.
The girls landed first in their division and towed their research and project supplies to Louisville, Kentucky to compete in the national competition last week.
"These are the kinds of presentations that college students are doing across the nation," Billy Grannemann, the North Callaway High School agriculture teacher and the girls' advisor for the competition, said. "This is very applicable that they could carry on with them after high school."
"I think it's a really good opportunity to give some kids who aren't traditional [agriculture] kids, who didn't grow up on a farm or own animals, a chance to become involved in an FFA competition when they normally wouldn't be able to," Grannemann added.
Sapp and Blansett spent three days presenting their research again in Kentucky to judges and members of the public. They landed 11th place in their division and earned silver medals for their work. The two admitted they were glad to not place in the top three as they would have been required to present again, which meant another early morning.
"Now we know where we stand," Sapp said.
"It sets that bar so we can do better next time," Blansett added.
Sapp and Blansett have already began discussing the subject of their project for next year's competition which involves comparing animal diets and how they affect fertilizers.
"I came up with that while eating a milkshake," Sapp said.