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Curiosity Rewarded: Florida Teen Heading to Space Camp, Not Jail

Posted by timothy on from the this-time-my-pretty dept.

Kiera Wilmot, the Florida high school student who was expelled from her school after an unauthorized science experiment was misperceived as a weapon (at least for purposes of arrest and charging), won't be going to jail. She will, though, be going to Space Camp, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign started by author and former NASA engineer Homer Hickham. All charges against her have been dropped.

4 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. Should have been punished, but not charged by BitwizeGHC · · Score: 4, Informative

    What she made wasn't really a science experiment; it was a "bottle bomb" consisting of mixing tinfoil and Drano in a Coke bottle. These explosives are well-known among schoolyard pranksters and can cause serious injury (chemical burns, loss of fingers, etc.)

    It's not politically correct to say, but if she was cooking one of these up on school property with her friends without teacher oversight, she should have been punished. As long as she didn't actually hurt anyone, though, it should have amounted into a few days' detention at worst.

    That said, I'm happy she's going to space camp and that this sort of mischief might develop into a real interest in science.

    --
    N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
  2. Re:I Think This Is A Bad Thing by dragon-file · · Score: 5, Informative
    I dont think you know who Homer Hickam is. Homer was a kid who grew up in a mining town where either you graduated high school and went to the coal mines or you got out on a football scholarship. He had a curiosity about space and rockets that could almost be described as fanaticism. His farther didn't support him, his friends initially didn't support him and only one person encouraged him, his teacher Mrs. Riley.

    He performed countless experiments throughout his high school days most of which were dangerous but he never gave up.

    He eventually graduated high school and went on to Virgina Tech and got a BS in Industrial engineering.

    He then went into the military and got into NASA and I'm sure I'm missing things in between.

    The point is, after seeing who elected to send her to space camp, the reasons become clear and make sense.

    Homer Hickam

    --
    Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
  3. Re:Good to see intelligence rewarded for once. by DocMAME · · Score: 2, Informative

    Never seen a Works bomb on YouTube, huh? Take a look and see how destructive one can be... it is a heated chemical reaction that melts the bottle as it attempts to expand and contain it prior to exploding and spraying caustic toilet bowl cleaner all about...

  4. Re:I Think This Is A Bad Thing by VAXcat · · Score: 3, Informative

    BTW - October Sky is an anagram for "Rocket Boys".

    --
    There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.