A KidZone visitor prepares to shake his creation on the ShakeZone shake table built by legendary Hollywood model builder Ray Juncal (K 19 and Terminator III) Ilene Cooper led the group in a discussion about plate tectonics Jill Andrews and KidZone Volunteer Ray Alves conducted a short demonstration of the new shake table. Sally McGill (hand on map) shared her insights about the theory of plate tectonics.

The SCEC Communication, Education and Outreach team offered two teacher education workshops in Spring, 2002, and plans to continue the series in partnership with the USGS Pasadena Education and Outreach office. The workshops provide a direct connection between scientists and developers of earthquake education resources and those who use these resources in the classroom.  Many of the materials for the workshops were provided by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS).

The next workshop will be held November 2, 2002 at Polytechnic School in Pasadena. For more information and to register, go to http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/workshops/.

Workshop at KidZone Children's Museum

Sponsoring its first event as a regional earthquake education center, The Riverside County Youth Museum (KidZone) sponsored an earthquake education workshop on April 20th led by representatives from SCEC and Caltech. KidZone is home to the ShakeZone earthquake exhibit that opened on January 17th, 2002, the eighth anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake. The exhibit was developed by SCEC, KidZone Museum administrators, educators from two local universities and an elementary school, the Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE), and the Riverside Police Department. Since opening, ShakeZone has been visited by several thousand school children and families who have learned key ideas about science, engineering and preparedness. (Read the SCEC News Article about the grand opening).

Sally McGill (geology professor from California State University San Bernardino) started the workshop with an excellent presentation about the basics of earthquakes. According to Florentina Tavares, former KidZone Board member, Sally's presentation made complex ideas very accessible and teachable to visitors. John Marquis (SCEC), Ilene Cooper (USC) and Kristin Weaver (William Lettis and Associates) led several activities related to plate tectonics, faults and seismic waves. Robert de Groot (SCEC) discussed how the activities and concepts presented at the workshop fit into the scope of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and the California Science Education Content Standards. He also led an activity on the difference between the magnitude and intensity of earthquakes. Jill Andrews (Caltech/CUREE) gave a demonstration on how shake table models work, and explained the four types of building models available for testing (house on a slab, hillside house, house on a cripple wall, and tuckunder apartment building). The workshop culminated with a behind-the-scenes tour of the ShakeZone earthquake exhibit by KidZone manager Cheryl Bohman and Board vice-president Michelle Alves.

All of the participants in the April 20th workshop were from schools in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. KidZone staff, board members and volunteers were also among those wanting to learn about new and creative ways to teach about the science of earthquakes.  Many of the participants commented on how well the presenters shared the information, modeled the activities, and discussed how each could be applied to a classroom or museum setting.

In addition to resources provided by IRIS, SCEC, and USGS, CUREE gave each participant a copy of Living with Earthquakes in California by Robert Yeats. Also, Jill Andrews (Caltech/CUREE) supervised the filming (funded by CUREE) of the workshop so others can take advantage of the expertise gathered at KidZone on April 20th. 

Workshop at USC

A second earthquake education workshop was held at SCEC's headquarters at the University of Southern California. The workshop was attended by educators from as far away as San Diego County.

Lisa Wald (USGS) began the workshop by presenting her popular Earthquakes 101 slide show. Wendy Shindle (USGS), Ilene Cooper (USC) and Kristin Weaver (William Lettis and Associates)  then facilitated activities about plate tectonics, seismic waves, and faults. Each presenter provided many suggestions about how to conduct the activity in the classroom as well as addressing the science behind each of the activities. One of the teachers commented that it was wonderful to have so many experts in one place to answer their most provocative questions about earthquakes.

One of the issues that arises in every educator workshop held by USGS and SCEC is how earthquakes and related phenomena fit with science education standards. To address this Robert de Groot (SCEC) prepared a short guide (including related websites) about earthquake education and standards documents.

After a morning filled with activities and presentations, the group walked over to the California Science Center for lunch and a tour of earthquake-related exhibits. The group was provided with the SCEC Guide to Earthquake Related Exhibits at the California Science Center. After lunch, all adjourned to a large lawn in back of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History where they learned about earthquake waves. The human P and S wave activity conducted by Ilene drew the attention of several interested and amused onlookers.

Lisa Wald presented her Earthquakes 101 PowerPoint show.	Kristin Weaver led the Plotting Earthquake Epicenters Activity.
Wendy Shindle (orange shirt) and Kristin Weaver (standing next to Wendy), and several workshop participants shared ideas.	The friendly group of participants participated in the Human P and S Wave Activity under the able direction of Ilene Cooper