Girl Scout Cookie Science Earns Savannah David Top Marks

Long Island Press - October 2026 | Volume 205, No. 10

October 01, 2026

GIRL SCOUT OF THE MONTH

Cookie Science Earns Savannah David Top Marks

Savannah David, a fifth grader at Coram Elementary Schooland member of Girl Scout Troop 437, is proving that curiosity can lead to big discoveries. Her award-winning science fair project, “That’s The Way the Cookie Crumbles,” earned first place and a special award before heading to Brookhaven National Laboratory’s science expo.

What inspired you to choose Girl Scout cookies for your science fair experiment, and what did you want to find out about how they decompose?

I was selling Girl Scout cookies for my troop, and I thought it would be fun to see if I could bring Girl Scout cookies and science together. So I thought about how people like to dunk cookies in milk and how they crumble after a while. Then I thought of the idea. “How I can test the different Girl Scout cookies using different liquids to see which ones break apart the cookies faster?”

What was the most surprising thing you discovered while conducting your cookie decomposition experiment?

My hypothesis was the Trefoil cookies will crumble the fastest. I guessed they would dissolve fastest in milk or seltzer. I guessed that the cookie that will crumble the next fastest was the Exploremore cookies will crumble the fastest in vinegar. and milk will make all the cookies crumble the fastest overall. What surprised me was that my hypothesis was partly correct. Trefoils crumble the fastest in milk and seltzer, Exploremores were not the second fastest. Lemon Up cookies were actually the ones that crumbled the fastest in vinegar.

Your project won first place as well as the “Quirkiest Concept – The Most Unusual and Amazing Idea” award. What did it mean to receive those honors?

At first, I did not know what the word “quirky” meant. But then I saw the words unusual and amazing. That to me meant no one has ever seen anything like it and I was so proud of myself that I made a project that no one would expect. I was sitting down waiting for the announcement for who won 1st place and the principal called my name. I stood up and had a big smile on my face. I was so excited and surprised because I thought my project was not going to win.

Your project was featured at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s science expo. How does it feel to have your work shared at such an important science and research facility?

I was so excited. It helped me know that my question about cookies dissolving was part of science and was not just a quirky idea. It felt like such an honor to be there with other fun projects and students.

As a Girl Scout and young scientist, what is something you would like to investigate or learn more about in the future?

I want to study life on different planets by using technology to communicate and learn their language. I want to put cameras everywhere to see how they talk, use their body language and what else they do to communicate and if they talk to other planets. I also want to use technology to communicate peace around the universe so we can use the resources on our planets to help each other and save our environments.

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