Kiera Wilmot Expelled: Scientists, Teachers Outraged By Harsh Punishment For Teen's Experiment Accident: Scientists are tweeting and blogging in indignation in response to the story of a Florida teenager expelled from school and facing felony charges for a science experiment gone awry.
Last week, before classes began, 16-year-old Kiera Wilmot put toilet cleaner and aluminum foil inside a plastic bottle -- to see what would happen when the chemicals combined, she says. The resulting explosion attracted a police officer, but harmed no one. Still, the Polk County School District, citing its code of conduct, immediately expelled her. Wilmot was also arrested and will be tried as an adult for allegedly possessing and discharging a weapon on school grounds and discharging a destructive device, according to the Miami New Times.
Ken Roy, the director of environmental health and safety for the school district of Glastonbury, Conn., a safety adviser for the National Science Teachers Association, and a former science teacher himself, was taken aback by the harsh punishment.
