http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/05/kiera_wilmot_s_chemistry_explosion_is_she_more_like_oliver_sacks_or_dzhokhar.html
I have a passion for science. I have a degree in it, I've taught it some, and I teach my munchkins as much as they will tolerate.
When I read this story, I couldn't believe it. The 'experiment' that this girl does was one that was part of my Chemistry I class my sophomore year of high school. It was wicked cool. I will never forget doing that experiment. What we didn't do, however, was cap it. We didn't try to bottle the gas. And, we did it under the supervision of our chemistry teacher with a lengthy lab write-up due at the end.
No, I don't know the full story with this particular student in the Slate article. But, what I DO know is that kids will muck about in a lab if given the chance. Did Ms. Wilmot conduct her experiment in a science lab or tucked away in the back of the girls' bathroom? Was this done with tools/ingredients from home or from a school lab? Lots of questions I hope the authorities involved are considering. Because frankly, the vast majority of teenagers who would think this is an interesting thing to try are NOT criminal types. They are usually the types who hang out in the library, cram in extra lab time for extra credit because it's fun, and dream about places like MIT or Stanford.
My own budding engineer, Munchkin #1, just completed a home made fountain. The water flows down the little waterfall each time the toilet is flushed. It is made out of a plastic planter, rocks, painters plastic and junk from our garage. Is it crazy? Yes. Did it make a mess all over the bathroom until he got the design right? Yes. Is it wicked cool? Totally. Munchkin #1 dreams of attending MIT.
My budding biologist, Munchkin #2, is very interested in all things slimy, squishy, and having to do with 'guts'. We once bought a squid at the fish counter so she could dissect it because she heard that squids had beaks, and she wanted to see the beak. So, armed with my invertebrate zoology lab manual, a plastic cutting board and a kitchen knife, at grade 2 Munchkin #2 performed her first dissection. In grade 5, her brother gave her a human anatomy set complete with 'surgical' tools, a book and rubber innards. Munchkin #2 squealed when she opened that birthday present and offered her brother the "first surgery" since he made it all possible. Weird? Yes. But, my daughter is still thinking about becoming a doctor which is totally awesome.
As a little kid, I watched an episode of CHIPS on TV. In one episode, a bottle bleach mixed with a bottle of soda pop creating a chlorine gas mess. I can't tell you how much I wanted to try experimenting with that as a kid. I did know kids who tried stuff like this. I would, however, go and probe at dead fish out on the beach instead. I'm still fascinated by aquatic creatures; must be why I got a degree in it!
If you are interested, there is a petition on change.org that is 'working' to help out Ms. Wilmot:
http://www.change.org/petitions/state-attorney-jerry-hill-drop-charges-against-kiera-wilmot
The world may seem to be going nuts around us, but that doesn't give us the right to go crazy with it. It means that we have the obligation to see that sanity is maintained or in some cases restored.
Here's to science for peaceful purposes!
Peace.
I have a passion for science. I have a degree in it, I've taught it some, and I teach my munchkins as much as they will tolerate.
When I read this story, I couldn't believe it. The 'experiment' that this girl does was one that was part of my Chemistry I class my sophomore year of high school. It was wicked cool. I will never forget doing that experiment. What we didn't do, however, was cap it. We didn't try to bottle the gas. And, we did it under the supervision of our chemistry teacher with a lengthy lab write-up due at the end.
No, I don't know the full story with this particular student in the Slate article. But, what I DO know is that kids will muck about in a lab if given the chance. Did Ms. Wilmot conduct her experiment in a science lab or tucked away in the back of the girls' bathroom? Was this done with tools/ingredients from home or from a school lab? Lots of questions I hope the authorities involved are considering. Because frankly, the vast majority of teenagers who would think this is an interesting thing to try are NOT criminal types. They are usually the types who hang out in the library, cram in extra lab time for extra credit because it's fun, and dream about places like MIT or Stanford.
My own budding engineer, Munchkin #1, just completed a home made fountain. The water flows down the little waterfall each time the toilet is flushed. It is made out of a plastic planter, rocks, painters plastic and junk from our garage. Is it crazy? Yes. Did it make a mess all over the bathroom until he got the design right? Yes. Is it wicked cool? Totally. Munchkin #1 dreams of attending MIT.
My budding biologist, Munchkin #2, is very interested in all things slimy, squishy, and having to do with 'guts'. We once bought a squid at the fish counter so she could dissect it because she heard that squids had beaks, and she wanted to see the beak. So, armed with my invertebrate zoology lab manual, a plastic cutting board and a kitchen knife, at grade 2 Munchkin #2 performed her first dissection. In grade 5, her brother gave her a human anatomy set complete with 'surgical' tools, a book and rubber innards. Munchkin #2 squealed when she opened that birthday present and offered her brother the "first surgery" since he made it all possible. Weird? Yes. But, my daughter is still thinking about becoming a doctor which is totally awesome.
As a little kid, I watched an episode of CHIPS on TV. In one episode, a bottle bleach mixed with a bottle of soda pop creating a chlorine gas mess. I can't tell you how much I wanted to try experimenting with that as a kid. I did know kids who tried stuff like this. I would, however, go and probe at dead fish out on the beach instead. I'm still fascinated by aquatic creatures; must be why I got a degree in it!
If you are interested, there is a petition on change.org that is 'working' to help out Ms. Wilmot:
http://www.change.org/petitions/state-attorney-jerry-hill-drop-charges-against-kiera-wilmot
The world may seem to be going nuts around us, but that doesn't give us the right to go crazy with it. It means that we have the obligation to see that sanity is maintained or in some cases restored.
Here's to science for peaceful purposes!
Peace.
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