Posted on 01/16/2010 6:16:53 AM PST by ozark hilljilly
SAN DIEGO — Students were evacuated from Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School in the Chollas View neighborhood Friday afternoon after an 11-year-old student brought a personal science project that he had been making at home to school, authorities said.
Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said the student had been making the device in his home garage. A vice principal saw the student showing it to other students at school about 11:40 a.m. Friday and was concerned that it might be harmful, and San Diego police were notified.
The school, which has about 440 students in grades 6 to 8 and emphasizes technology skills, was initially put on lockdown while authorities responded.
Luque said the project was made of an empty half-liter Gatorade bottle with some wires and other electrical components attached. There was no substance inside.
When police and the Metro Arson Strike Team responded, they also found electrical components in the student's backpack, Luque said. After talking to the student, it was decided about 1 p.m. to evacuate the school as a precaution while the item was examined. Students were escorted to a nearby playing field, and parents were called and told they could come pick up their children.
A MAST robot took pictures of the device and X-rays were evaluated. About 3 p.m., the device was determined to be harmless, Luque said.
Luque said the project was intended to be a type of motion-detector device.
Both the student and his parents were "very cooperative" with authorities, Luque said. He said fire officials also went to the student's home and checked the garage to make sure items there were neither harmful nor explosive.
"There was nothing hazardous at the house," Luque said.
The student will not be prosecuted, but authorities were recommending that he and his parents get counseling, the spokesman said. The student violated school policies, but there was no criminal intent, Luque said.
"There will be no (criminal) charges whatsoever," Luque said.
Police and fire officials also will not seek to recover costs associated with responding to the incident, the spokesman said.
Luque said both the student and his parents were extremely upset.
"He was very shaken by the whole situation, as were his parents," Luque said.
The school is located on Carolina Lane near Hilltop Drive.
Adjacent Gompers Charter Middle School was not affected during the incident, police Sgt. Ray Battrick said.
Millennial Middle School opened in fall 2008. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District.
My kids attended a similar school. There were a few tech savvy teachers, but the faculty was the usual mix. The difference at the school was the kids and parents.
You’re welcome!
I originally saw the story at Boing-Boing, but thought their headline was a little too vulgar for here, so I went with the source. I grew up around there.
However, Boing-Boing’s summary of the story is funny:
“A San Diego school vice-principal saw an 11-year-old’s home science project (a motion detector made out of an empty Gatorade bottle and some electronics), decided it was a bomb, wet himself, put the school on lockdown, had the bomb-squad come out to destroy X-ray the student’s invention and search his parents’ home, and then magnanimously decided not to discipline the kid (though he did recommend that the child and his parents get counselling to help them overcome their anti-social science behavior). “
it’s all part of the breakdown...we are raising a nation of scaredy cats...kids who will be afraid of their shadows. You know the whole extreme sports movement was sort of in response to the “SAFE SPORT” themes implemented in school. Kids who rebel will always rebel. It seems like only the rebels will be the great inventors now, everyone else will be suspect.
I call it the Nerf World mentality.
Clip from the movie “My Science Project” starring Dennis Hopper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xezwa2COcE0
FYI - did a quick rough conversion. You get about 8Kj (8000 joules) out of .5 L hydrogen.
—there is somewhat of a size difference in a half liter and the Hindenburg-—
Oh my, that must have looked so dangerous and scary. Not like the idiot could have walked up to the kid and asked him how it was supposed to work and what he may have learned from building it. I guess interacting with the prisoners isn't part of his job at the high security institution of indoctrination.
Police and fire officials also will not seek to recover costs associated with responding to the incident, the spokesman said.
Mighty nice of them. They take nothing, turn it into a crime that is not a crime. They mobilize an oversized bureaurcracy to handle the non-crime, and then graciously decline to extort money from the victim for the expenses incurred dealing with this non-crime..
Makes sense to me.
No doubt - my point is that hydrogen burns real good.
Go you one better. When my daughter was in HS, one of her friends wore a diabetic pump. The principal strode up to the young man without warning and tried to rip it off of him (out of him?). Claimed he thought it was a cell phone.
This is rational behavior?
Heh, ‘anti-social science’... ;’)
I live in San Diego. Rumor has it the kid created cold fusion in a Gatorade bottle. The Principle, heavily invested in the oil industry, called in a goon squad to take care of the situation.
Now that is a cool story? You should try to find this guy on FB and see what he is up to. :)
He was in the school yearbook...I think I WILL try and look him up! LOL!
Society is stupid.
The lack of science is a badge of honor among the urban ignorati and here on Free Republic among those who have chosen to not believe. One only hope there are enough smart kids like this one to overcome the dumbies and selfrightous parents.
If you find him, I would be interested in knowing what he is up to these days. LoL!
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