LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Welcome to room 279, (second) home to chemistry teacher Mr. Jones. There are a few beakers with droplets of a mystery chemical left out on back table, a lingering smell of an experiment from his last class and a guinea pig in someone’s arms!

There’s the whiteboard where students doodle and write a new “question of the day”; a counter in the back where a Barbie doll is set up with her own mini lab equipment, including a miniature Bunsen burner (that really works if you connect it to the gas tube!) and look! It’s Mr. Jones, Los Alamitos High School’s 2025 teacher of the year. 

#1. He had reddish hair when he was younger.

Growing up, Mr. Jones had strawberry blonde hair. It was a little red, but not the red “that gets you bullied,” he said. His daughter, Samantha, is the only one of his kids to also have this hair color!

Here’s his sister, Michelle, and her dog Frankie. His proud parents, James “Jim,” and his mom, Barbara, are on his left. His daughter Samantha, or Sam, and son Brandon are to his right with his wife, Mrs. Jones, LAHS’ dance teacher.

“I am super proud of him, and (this award) is extremely well-deserved,” his daughter Samantha said. “A father is someone you look up to, no matter how tall you get,” she quoted.

#2. His dream job might surprise you. 

Mr. Jones’ first dream job was a fireman that skied. Don’t ask him how that works; he doesn’t know either.

“I wanted to be on skis in the snow and fight fires. That was obviously just ridiculous,” Mr. Jones said.

But, his dream job since he was a teenager has been a Formula One driver.

#3. He has unexpected music recommendations.

Three artists he thinks everyone should listen to at some point in their life: Adele, Pink Floyd and Lady Gaga. 

Though he enjoys modern music, he also likes progressive rock-type 70s music and 80s mixes.

“I was a child of the 80s. The 80s had great music and were very iconic. Nothing else sounds like it. If you ask my wife, she’d say the same,” Mr. Jones said.

#4. A car running on a nuclear fusion reactor sounds cool to him.

Mr. Jones took inspiration from “Back to the Future“‘s flux capacitor. He thinks a nuclear fusion reactor would be a cool choice but impractical. Realistically, Mr. Jones finds hydrogen gas-powered cars intriguing. And they exist!

#5. “What unit of measurement are we talking?”

For Mr. Jones, is the beaker half full or half empty?

The science answer: It’s all full — half full of water, half full of air.

“The beaker is half full, but what unit of measurement are we talking?” Mr. Jones said. 

#6. Jonesium, element #119

If Mr. Jones had his own element, it would be called Jonesium. It would be element 119, next on the periodic table. Fun fact: The letters J and Q have not been used on the periodic table once!

Jonesium would be highly reactive and radioactive at the same time.

#7. Some of his favorite scientists are fun to pronounce.

Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff is the first Nobel Prize winner in chemistry. Mr. Jones likes him for obvious reasons. Same goes for Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, who figured out the structure of benzene.

Some other, more easily pronounceable scientists Mr. Jones likes are Richard Feynman, a physicist, Marie Curie (“of course”) and Glenn Seaborg, one of the leading scientists at Berkeley who discovered all the big elements.

#8. He probably has the most interesting storage room on campus.

Besides being a part-time home for guinea pigs, the storage room in the back of room 279 is also home to strange and unusual things.

The most dangerous thing in it is concentrated sulfuric acid, which can be deadly if used incorrectly. The least dangerous thing in it could be St. Giles (pronounced jiles), the stuffed armadillo, who belongs to the bio teachers but is living in Mr. Jones’ storage room rent-free.

#9. Meet the guineas!

If you’ve had Mr. Jones for class before, you may have seen students casually holding a guinea pig in their lap while taking notes or stopping by before class to feed them hay. 

Here’s how Mr. Jones would describe all the guineas in a few words:

Posy, named after the flower, is curious and always drinking water. Mr. Jones thinks she would be the best student in human form because of her love for learning. Her friend, Hazel, is calm and adorable. Next, Mohawk, is the only boy, and he’s crazy! Squirrel is patient and calm; Mouse is more adventurous and looks like a big mouse. And finally, Cookie is the athlete of the bunch. 

Gallery • 4 Photos

Leah Oh

Crocheted versions of Mr. Jones' guinea pigs, custom-made from Etsy.

#10. Mr. Jones dishes on pickles.

This last one might surprise you. For a guy who created a website called “Pickleland” (see for yourself) and sometimes even stamps homework with a pickle stamp, he sure doesn’t like pickles that much. 

Gallery • 3 Photos

Leah Oh

Locations in Mr. Jones' classroom suggest he's a bit pickle-obsessed.

So, where did the whole pickle thing come from?

Once upon a time, Mr. Jones was describing a piece of equipment to his class. He referred to the leg as a pickle, and the students thought it was funny that he called something that wasn’t a pickle a pickle. On their next test, he included a question about a pickle. Later, he integrated a demonstration where a pickle is electrocuted. A few years later, a student in AP Chem asked to make batteries during the unit, and it turns out you can make a battery from a pickle! Now, on Halloween, Mr. Jones brings pickles and candy for his classes.

Finally, the best food that involves pickles in Mr. Jones’ opinion? A pastrami sandwich from Katella Deli. 

Congratulations on your teacher of the year award, Mr. Jones!