Vivian Bozek and Sienna Harden, sixth grade students at Saint Joseph Catholic School, won first place in the middle school animal sciences division at the 69th Annual Colorado Science and Engineering Fair held April 13 at Colorado State University.
Their project, “You Got Good Milk,” examined what makes the best goat milk. “We know a lot of people, classmates included, who can’t digest lactose,” said Sienna. “So we started looking at goat milk as a good dairy substitute for people who are lactose intolerant.”
“We tested lots of different variables and found that older goats make better-quality milk than younger goats,” said Vivian. In addition, the young researchers found that the goat breed makes a difference in goat milk quality. “The larger breeds like Nubian and Alpine had higher fat and protein in their milk than the smaller breeds like the Nigerian Dwarf, “ said Sienna. “We found it interesting that the opposite was true when it came to cholesterol: the smaller goats had higher cholesterol than the larger goats.”
The student researchers are hoping that dairy goat farmers will find their research useful.
As the top finisher, Sienna and Vivian were awarded $225 and medals. Additionally, they were nominated for the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. “The nomination is a great honor,” said Mrs. Aiken, science teacher at Saint Joseph Catholic School. “It designates their project as among the top ten percent of middle school science fair projects in the United States.”
Saint Joseph Catholic School is committed to providing an education rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Catholic teaching and academic excellence; which invites students to love God and others, to develop their unique talents and gifts and to become life-long learners. Learn more at https://gosaintjoseph.org/ or call 970-484-1171 to schedule a tour.