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

a reply to: bjarneorn

we've reached a paranoid state by design.

perpetual war

no one here is saying she should be locked up on terrorism charges. It is obvious that she was not trying to harm anyone. this entire story changes if someone had been hurt. I still find it very hard to believe that an honor student would be so stupid. the real story should be about the state of our education system not this girl. She is a victim of the school systems.

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Aluminum foil and certain types of drain cleaners, when combined, cause a chemical reaction which releases the very volatile and quite flammable gas, hydrogen. I wouldn't go as far as calling her volcano a "bomb", but it was definitely a dangerous experiment and not one suitable for an untrained high school student to be undertaking at school, where people can be injured. We all know what happened to the Hindenburg, right? The amount of the gas released from the reaction is minuscule in comparison, but in a poorly ventilated area, is definitely a fire hazard.

I think, AT MOST, she should be punished by the school for her irresponsibility and for unintentionally putting students at a fire risk. Felony charges on the other hand... ridiculous. We all release methane when we fart, its the same concept and has about the same chance for a fire to start or something like that to happen. We all know not to fart next to an open flame, right?

a reply to: schadenfreude
Hard to imagine what it must have felt like. To have been confronted and dealt with like a criminal must have been utterly bewildering. Ignorant times indeed.
.

originally posted by: Wrabbit2000
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.

When I went to college (2003) I was not permitted to take Chemistry. In 1986 I had some training in the Navy on how to recognize bombs and what to do if I found one. These classes were listed on my DD-214 with an EOD code. The college I was attending was so paranoid that they came up with separate class schedule for me that didn't include Chemistry.

originally posted by: TrueBrit

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.

You know, I could actually hear a British accent when I read that.

to those of you who asked where the teacher was: kudo's.

That is exactly correct. If you are going to do a project, you should be submitting work along the way as checkpoints. That is what teachers should be doing: teaching students how to follow the standardized processes known as "the scientific method".

She likely got a recipe from the web and put it to use. I would suppose that her parents helped her get the materials together. But who knows.

But drain cleaner?

I don't expect a kid to have solid judgement (although, an honors student should be more insightful than this). I do expect the teacher to be engaged enough with the classroom to head this nonsense off.

a reply to: schadenfreude

I have to shake my head in disbelief and can only pray the idiots running the asylum are eventually rounded up. I did the same experiment for a science project back in 1972 or there and about. I guess the statute of limitations is pretty much up - or does anyone really respect those any more?

This is idiocy at it's finest.

“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.

originally posted by: CZ75P01
a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

I think, AT MOST, she should be punished by the school for her irresponsibility and for unintentionally putting students at a fire risk.

A puff of smoke...sound general quarters. I weep for humanity.

Despite the principal conceding that it was obvious that Wilmot meant no harm, she was expelled anyway.

Wilmot was punished to send a message to other students that their zero tolerance policies were to be enforced, whether the situation makes sense or not.

That's the spirit. Good thing the school systems are no longer about real education.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan
This is what I thought at first too, but after reading the Huffington Post report on it (which is where the OPs source got the story from) things are different then they look. Refer back to my posting on this. ATS: Guyfridays earlier post in this thread

She never got to show the teacher anything due to caving in to her friends persuasion (I wonder if it was the same friends that told her to use those chemicals).

originally posted by: sheepslayer247

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

I'm fairly sure you could make a plastic bottle like that explode using vinegar and baking soda. Obviously she only used a tiny amount of cleaning fluid and aluminium, because it only created a small "puff of smoke". As long as what she did was safe and controlled I see no real issue with it, especially if she was a good student.

a reply to: schadenfreude

So, a valid science experiment gets a student expelled? Well, that's proof; the public school system isn't trying to educate anyone; they are trying to program people. Give some enough time, they'll be running assembly lines Brave New World-style. This is beyond stupid!

The Department of Education needs to go, and last week isn't soon enough.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes
How was this valid? She never talked to the teacher about what she was doing. In fact according to the report from the Huffington Post, She never talk to the teacher at all. Instead she just did what her friends told her to do.

That's not a valid science experiment that's just causing trouble under the guise of "science". If she had gone to the teacher, then I think this whole affair would have been different.

I think too many people are focusing on the "Honor Student" label and the term "Science Experiment" rather than looking at what she actually did (as in bring a chemical device to a public school, and then engaging the detonation cycle). We can all say that this poor girl didn't know any better, but look people she should have done research into what she was doing rather then "just listening" to her friends.

a reply to: schadenfreude

My class did the volcano experiment when I went to school. Two kids made their volcano using a coke bottle filled with gasoline. The teacher smelled the gas, and they weren't allowing to light it, thank God. Nothing at all happened to them, except that they got an "F". It was a lot more relaxed back then. There were no guns or bombs at schools.

That's not a valid science experiment that's just causing trouble under the guise of "science"

Yep, that's it. Kids now go out of their way to pretend to have a science experiment for the sole purpose of trouble making and terrorism. Who says they haven't learned anything while at school.

Talk about a whipped society.

a reply to: Parthin
To think, that could've been an absolute disaster. Those kids probably would've burnt the hell out of themselves. Gasoline is pretty volatile in a container due to the fumes. I've started enough bonfires to have proper respect for gas. Singeing the hair off your arms or eyebrows is funny for only so long.

The real problem is zero tolerance. Teachers aren't allowed to intervene with common sense in time, it just gets shuffled along administrative procedures in the effort to eliminate accountability by school districts and to insulate against the decision making process, ie common sense. It sucks that that's what it's come to, but too many lawsuits have made it that way. I can see the logic in it, I really just don't like it.

World gone wrong, and the worst sort of message to promote any sort of investigation.

Luckily I live in New Zealand and we can demonstrate this sort of science to students, and in this case it's a low-decile ( low socio-economic) Intermediate school (ages 10-13). I'm in the yellow coat and hard hat We model Health and Safety protocols ).

volcano in a barrel

We do this every year with our geology students too, at University.
Frankly, you guys are stuffed.

originally posted by: Guyfriday
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes
How was this valid? She never talked to the teacher about what she was doing. In fact according to the report from the Huffington Post, She never talk to the teacher at all. Instead she just did what her friends told her to do.

That's not a valid science experiment that's just causing trouble under the guise of "science". If she had gone to the teacher, then I think this whole affair would have been different.

I think too many people are focusing on the "Honor Student" label and the term "Science Experiment" rather than looking at what she actually did (as in bring a chemical device to a public school, and then engaging the detonation cycle). We can all say that this poor girl didn't know any better, but look people she should have done research into what she was doing rather then "just listening" to her friends.

It's a science experiment. Trying it out ahead of presenting it is good science. She set up a volcano, not a bomb. Some smoke came out. That isn't "causing trouble". it's smoke, from a mini volcano. Calling it a "chemical device" is simply bowing to scare tactics. My hair spray is a "chemical device" under that sort of screwy standard.

This isn't quite as ridiculous as the elementary school kid that was suspended for drawing a "gun" he saw in a cloud, but it's close.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes
The smoke came out because she messed up (according to the Huffington Post)

Your right she should have tested this out "off of school property", or at least have consulted with a teacher before even bring it to school.

The kid that drew the gun is one thing, but this was in fact an explosive device. It doesn't matter if she was aware of it or not, if the cap was sealed correctly it would have exploded. People could have been injured (luckily that didn't happen).