Scientists back teen’s explosive effort
Felony charges filed after experiment goes wrong
Scientists fondly remembering their school days of blowing things up were rallying Thursday in support of a 16year-old model student in Florida charged with a felony after her science experiment exploded.
Kiera Wilmot was experimenting with mixing toilet bowl cleaner and pieces of aluminum foil in a water bottle outside her school. Bartow High School assistant principal Dan Durham, in charge of discipline, heard the explosion and called police. Wilmot was expelled, taken to a juvenile centre and charged with a weapons felony.
Scientific American published two essays in support of Wilmot. Nature Geoscience wrote in her defence. Scientists also created a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #KieraWilmot.
“Most of us didn’t become scientists because of something that happened in a classroom. . . . That is a classic experiment. Sometimes things blow up.” DANIELLE LEE SCIENTIST WHO WROTE AN ESSAY SUPPORTING KIERA WILMOT
“Most of us didn’t become scientists because of something that happened in a classroom,” Dr. Danielle Lee, who wrote one of the essays, told the Star.
“She wanted to see for herself. That is a classic experiment. Sometimes things blow up.”
“When I was a child, I discovered the calcium hypochlorite and polyethylene glycol reaction,” Joel Bondurant posted on Twitter.
“Blew up a capacitor,” wrote Geoffrey Seitz.
“Brake fluid and pool chlorine,” said Antonio S. Chavez.
“She is a good kid,” principal Ron Pritchard was quoted as saying by local media. “She has never been in trouble before. Ever.”
The police report, filed by Bartow investigating officer Gregory Rhoden, said that Wilmot told Durham “she was conducting a science fair experiment.”
No one was hurt and no property was damaged. But Florida assistant state attorney Tammy Glotfelty, contacted by Rhoden, “advised this officer to file a charge of possessing or discharging weapons or firearms” at school.
Polk County Schools, in a statement, said the incident Monday, which occurred on the school grounds, “was a serious breach of conduct.”
Bartow police spokesman Sgt. David Wyant said it’s up to the state attorney general’s office to decide whether it really was a science experiment.
“That was her excuse,” he said. “We can’t prove that.”
Pritchard was quoted by the local Ledger of Lakeland newspaper as saying he was standing nearby when he heard a pop.
“She left it on the ground, and she stayed there,” he said. “We went over to where she was. She saw that we saw her, so she didn’t take off.”
The state attorney general’s office would only say its investigation continues.
By Thursday afternoon, more than 4,200 people had signed a petition on Change.org asking Polk County to rescind the expulsion. Facebook and Twitter campaigns were also up and rolling.
Lee was also talking with colleagues in the scientific community about helping Wilmot with legal fees and finding research work for her in their labs.
“We’re talking about what we can do to make sure she’s not frightened out of science,” Lee said. “And what does this do for her life? This is a felony, she could go to jail for years. This could mess up her entire life.”