Larger imageScience educators sign up for the SCEC education e-mail list.

by Robert de Groot and Gema Venegas

The Southern California Earthquake Center hosted a booth in the exhibition hall at the California Science Education Conference held in the Long Beach Convention Center, from October 25-27, 2007. Over 2,400 K-12 science educators from the state of California participated in the conference that is hosted annually by the California Science Teachers Association. At these meetings educators have the opportunity to attend workshops, exhibits and network with other professionals. The exhibit hall included a variety of booths ranging from textbook publishers to non-profit organizations and fundraisers.

Robert de Groot and Gema Venegas from USC, distributed English and Spanish copies of Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country, Earthquake Country DVDs and lesson guides and SCEC resource disks, which include earthquake and fault visualizations. They also had an opportunity to talk with many educators about their needs in order to teach topics related to earthquakes more effectively. Bob and Gema also shared the Dare to Prepare campaign and pointed out that earthquake readiness should be emphasized with all students.

Larger imageBob Arii demonstrates how to use his earthquake machine at the California Science Education Conference.

Bob Arii, a science educator at Deer Canyon Elementary School in San Diego County, also joined SCEC for one day at the exhibit. Bob heard about the science education conference through one of the education workshops that SCEC co-hosted with the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists earlier this year. Bob brought one of the earthquake machines he built after attending the AEG workshop and helped with the distribution of SCEC materials. Teachers got a chance to use both earthquake machines at the booth and received a copy of Bob’s lesson plan to use in the classroom.

As a memento of their visit to the SCEC booth everyone who signed up for the earthquake education e-mail list received a Dare to Prepare bumper sticker reminding them that "Shift Happens."