Middle-schooler Films Teacher Yawning in Class

Name: Brianna McGovern 

School: Eighth-grade student at Eyer Middle School

Accomplishment: First-place winner in the category behavioral science at the Region 3 science fair of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. This region includes Schuylkill, Berks, Lehigh, Carbon and Northampton counties 

Key to Awesomeness: Her project was entitled “Is There Such a Thing as a Contagious Yawn?” She had to find a way to prove that contagious yawning was real. Brianna then filmed a class, watching to see if they would yawn after seeing their teacher do it. She did this for six days – three days with the teacher yawning and three days to see if anyone yawned naturally. 

“My results came out more than I had expected,” she said, “I hypothesized about 10 percent would yawn. The average percentage for the first 3 days ranged from 20-26 percent [people yawning].”

Brianna’s favorite subject is Language Arts.  In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, listening to music, and playing on the Miracle League Baseball team.

After graduation, she would like to become a music teacher in a school; however, Brianna has not yet begun her search for a college.