Honor student charged with 2 felonies for making a volcano as science experiment

BARTOW, FL — A 16-year-old girl was arrested and expelled from school after she demonstrating the traditional ‘erupting volcano’ in class as a science experiment. Even a year later, she is still being haunted by the multiple felonies she was charged with. Kiera Wilmot’s volcano was designed to demonstrate a chemical reaction simulating a volcanic eruption. Inside her volcano prop, was an 8-ounce water bottle with some toilet bowl cleaner in it. When the cleaner is exposed to aluminum, it creates an exothermic chemical reaction. Her experiment got her in serious trouble on April 29th, 2013. “When I put the aluminum foil into the bottle, the lid popped off an a little bit of smoke climbed out of the bottle,” Kiera described. No one was hurt. No damage was caused. No harm was done. “The principal asked what was going on, and I told him it was just a little science experiment,” Kiera continued. She was pulled out of class and led to the office by a school resource officer.

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I think we should start adding school supervisors on the list as well as cops & judges of "those that need to go".

How old is this experiment of the volcano? Are the websites that show how to do this being taken down for "terrorism"?

Are ppl being charged? No?

People who think for themselves are the REAL TERRORISTS and those that do will PAY.

Least that's the impression I get from articles like these.

a reply to: schadenfreude

It's too bad she's not a jilted chemist stealing supplies from work to create rash inducing potions to rub all over her husband's girlfriend's doorhandles and such...maybe this girl should take her case to the Supreme Court...

a reply to: the owlbear

You really expect the SC to make this right? They're part of the problem, part of the system.

Just like IA when it comes to cops.

I think we should stop believing/trusting the system to change itself.

What the hell? Felonies for the volcano experiment? That is just silly. The only crime this girl committed is not being original enough to think up a more impressive science experiment (seriously who hasn't made a home made volcano as a kid?) But that certainly isn't a criminal offense. Heck she shouldn't even be expelled for it...

Well in all fairness when I did this experiment it was vinegar and baking soda…much less of a reaction going on there. Considering those very ingredients ,listed in a book we all know, are the main ingredients in making an improvised bomb I can see how one trying to cover their ass would make a deal over it. I think it should maybe come down to what kind of person this student was. Was it a student constantly in trouble or was this a hard working student that was ernest in her experiment. If she was the latter then this should be dropped and wiped from her record so as not to ruin her life as she may wind up being an important scientist one day.

ETA: To make my point clearer…I don't believe any charges should have been brought up. Maybe a little scare by having the officer pull out the student for a talk but beyond that it's only doing more harm than good. I do however see how the school resource officer could want to cover his ass considering what she did was very unsafe. Public opinion is fickle it could go for or against you just as easily. Could you imagine if this was put out and spun against the officer for not taking action. I can sure that happening if the right people took up the cause against the officer. We all know how our press can be...

I find it stupid that she was charged a felony for this, but I'm also surprised she used toilet cleaner and foil.

I'm not the smartest guy in the room, but from what I understand.....that's a bomb, not a science experiment.

ETA: Keep in mind that all of the charges were dropped.

She was a honor student but used bomb materials?
Kind of shows the state of our schools.
But a felony is a huge over reaction.

Doesn't that make poisonous gas also?

holy f**king christ...what the hell is wrong with this country?

i did the EXACT SAME experiment in school, when i was a kid, and it was 100% cool.....the teacher even seems slightly disappointed as he explained to me how i could have made the reaction, and subsequent "eruption" slightly MORE violent...

seriously, wtf?

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
She was a honor student but used bomb materials?
Kind of shows the state of our schools.
But a felony is a huge over reaction.

Why is it now "bomb materials"? Simply b/c they say so?!

It's been a science experiment upto now for how many decades?

a reply to: schadenfreude

I did the volcano experiment in HS and we used baking soda and vinegar. But there are many ways of doing it.

Foil and toilet cleaner is dangerous and is used to make some nasty bombs.

The real question here: Where the hell was the teacher and why didn't they step in before she went with foil and cleaner?

Can I ask where the hell her teacher was for this? Why did that teacher not have the sense to check this out? Why is the pupil being blamed for something like this? How bloody stupid is that Principal????

originally posted by: schadenfreude

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
She was a honor student but used bomb materials?
Kind of shows the state of our schools.
But a felony is a huge over reaction.

Why is it now "bomb materials"? Simply b/c they say so?!

It's been a science experiment upto now for how many decades?

Ok
Put her science experiment in a two liter bottle with a lid screwed on tight.
Wait a few minutes then you will know why I said bomb materials.

a reply to: schadenfreude

Well there is this book…it's been around for decades and is full of working plans and nonworking plans for improvised explosives. One of those "recipes" contains those exact 2 ingredients. I'm pretty sure, depending on the volume and concentrations, this could be quite devastating in a small room like a class…also proximity to the experiment. I would think the teacher though would have checkpoints on something like that so they could monitor progress and catch the projects that are flawed or done wrong before it's too late to fix them.

a reply to: schadenfreude

It doesn't really make a bomb per say, but if capped off it would have exploded, possibly throwing chemical everywhere.
I agree she should have stuck with vinegar and baking soda but they still took this way out of context. She sounds like they made her an example for others.

a reply to: schadenfreude

This is asinine, kid uses her brain and creates an awesome school project, gets tossed out and charged. Meanwhile, the three or so pot heads stoned out of their gourdes in the back of the class get a B FOR JUST SHOWING UP

a reply to: TheLieWeLive



They are similar to dry ice bombs. Might not create a fireball, but there is enough force to hurt people.

a reply to: schadenfreude

Given that one of the things that is wrong with the developed world at the moment, is that too few young people are becoming interested in, and capable of interacting with scientific endeavours, I find this particular total shambles particularly bloody stupid.

No damage was done to any property, no lives were in any danger, and the particular project that the young lady was about, is one of the archetypal projects that young people have undertaken for school. So entirely entrenched in the American psyche is this particular project, that it has been the subject of sitcom episodes, and scenes and running gags in movies, for YEARS!

I KNOW THIS AND I DO NOT EVEN LIVE THERE!

Young people should be SUPPORTED by the educational establishment, when they show apptitude or enthusiasm for a subject, especially when they show enough interest to partake in projects which will boost their understanding and enjoyment of those subjects. Young people need all the encouragement they can get to take up gainful career paths, and all the support they can get to receive the education that will further those lofty aims. Aiming high, after all, is the only route to getting where one wants to be.

It is vitally important that showing interest does NOT result in vilification from the education establishment, let alone the Justice system. Kids are already under pressure from their peers to take up the same mentally stunted pursuits as the Beiber fandom, and any activity which extends a students intellectual horizon beyond that level is to be encouraged. The reason it is important that this be the way of things, is that when a person, even one of fairly high intellectual capacity, is NOT supported when they wish to learn, they quickly become fatigued by the entire process, and far from merely losing interest, have it beaten out of them by the crushing contempt of the education system itself.

The sort of bloody idiocy which lead to this student having so much legal trouble hanging over her head, is precisely the sort of thing that prevents people who should be going forward in life, from gaining the traction and momentum in education, which is required to break through the intial stages of education, and into the wider and more nourishing environment of higher learning.

A pox, and a thousand curses upon every individual who processed paperwork, carried it, posted it, and against every agency which has had a hand in this young ladies harassment by the state. Its a bloody travesty, and everyone acting against her should be ashamed of themselves.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71

originally posted by: schadenfreude

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
She was a honor student but used bomb materials?
Kind of shows the state of our schools.
But a felony is a huge over reaction.

Why is it now "bomb materials"? Simply b/c they say so?!

It's been a science experiment upto now for how many decades?

Ok
Put her science experiment in a two liter bottle with a lid screwed on tight.
Wait a few minutes then you will know why I said bomb materials.

Yeah, i get it, goes "boom".

Totally not my point.

Jesus America, what's next? Background checks just to be admitted to attend a chemistry class??? At one time this would have won awards. Now it brings charges. We've so badly lost our way and now treat true science, done in the spirit and intent of science as criminal action because OTHERS see entirely different potentials within a thing.

Perhaps OTHERS who seem to think that inside every American is a terrorist, trying to get out...need help. Perhaps professional help in a clinical setting, far far from populated areas and the stress of the world.

a reply to: sheepslayer247

Wouldn't that have made an awesome volcano experiment though?

"This is what will happen when Yellowstone finally blows...wait for it..."