Apr 21, 2006 8:05 pm US/Mountain
Girl's Science Project Deemed 'Too Gross' For Fair
by Suzanne McCarroll
DENVER (CBS4) ―
A 10-year old girl's project was denied a spot in her school's science fair because her teacher didn't think it was appropriate.
Whitney Ingraham, a student at Denver School of Science and Technology, was allowed to show her project to the students in her class, but couldn't be a part of the fair.
"The pigs weren't mummified and they were in these jars with blood and maggots crawling out of the ears and maggots crawling all over," said Joe Cole, the school's spokesperson. "We just did not think that was appropriate."
Her project was to show how piglets decompose based on how they're preserved.
"I called the teacher last Thursday and said 'do you understand that these are baby pigs in glass jars, decomposing with blood in them,'" said Teisha Ingraham, the girl's mother. "I asked if it was going to be an issue and she said no."
The school said if the piglets had been mummified, the project would have been accepted.
"It had all the organs removed including the brain," Ingraham said. "I was looking forward to showing people how the Egyptians were really amazing and unique."
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