I (32M), a teacher (English and Spanish), was just walking around the gym today. It was packed with students setting up their science fair projects.
I stopped at this one table because my English class had a pair working on something that looked cool. One girl (16F) had brought in her VR headset, and the other kid (17M) was standing there with a clipboard, pen, the whole deal, like he was the scientist observing. Their project was about the nervous system, and they told me they were gonna put me in the VR and try to scare me to see how I reacted.
So, I put on the headset, and everything was weird. I was trying to stay cool, but then this thing jumped out. I totally freaked. I started flinching like crazy, trying to get away from whatever horrifying thing was in the VR. Next thing I know, I crash into a table.
I ripped off the headset, and my glasses were all crooked. That’s when I saw the damage. It was another project. These other two students were doing something with coffee and milk, a dilution thing for a chemistry project. They had all these cups set out for people to try the different strengths of coffee. One of the kids managed to jump out of the way, but his partner, one of my ESL students (14-18M), wasn’t so lucky. He got soaked in coffee.
I felt like the biggest idiot in the world. I kept saying sorry. They were going to need to brew four new pots of coffee and get a new gallon of milk before the science fair starts tonight. I feel absolutely terrible. I totally ruined their hard work. I don’t think those two are ever going to forgive me. I messed up the science fair, and it was all my fault.
TL;DR: Teacher (32M) checking out science fair projects got scared in a VR demo by his students (16F, 17M), flailed around, and knocked over another group’s coffee/milk dilution project, soaking one student (14-18M). Teacher feels awful and thinks he ruined the science fair.