Purpose of Workshop
This is the third in a series of workshops organized by the EarthScope National Office (ESNO) to train interpreters in parks and museums to incorporate EarthScope observations and science results into programs that engage the public in landscape-forming processes and natural hazards (www.earthscope.org/eno/parks). EarthScope employs advanced geophysical sensors and high-performance computing to measure signals generated by earthquakes and volcanic events. This National Science Foundation (NSF) program is deploying hundreds of seismometers and GPS devices, and drilling a borehole across the San Andreas Fault, to observe the inner-workings of the continent. Many of the instruments are permanently based in the western United States. Other instruments are being gradually moved across the country from west to east over the next decade. The resulting EarthScope images provide a record of how the continent has evolved over millions of years, enabling scientists, students, and the public to appreciate how the North American continent deforms in ways that affect our lives.

The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) is a community of over 600 scientists, students, and others at over 60 institutions worldwide, headquartered at the University of Southern California. It was founded in 1991 with a mission to gather data on earthquakes in Southern California and elsewhere, integrate information into a comprehensive and physics-based understanding of earthquake phenomena, and communicate understanding to society at large as useful knowledge for reducing earthquake risk. SCEC is funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey to develop a comprehensive understanding of earthquakes in Southern California and elsewhere, and to communicate useful knowledge for reducing earthquake risk. SCEC's science goal is to understand the physics of the Southern California fault system and develop a model of key aspects of earthquake behavior.

EarthScope and SCEC integrate many types of observations to study processes that deform the western edge of North America. This workshop will show how incorporating geophysical observations into interpretive programs and exhibits can enhance the “sense of place” represented by the dynamic landscape of southern California. Presentations and activities will focus on engaging the public on not only how and why science is important, but also that it is understandable and meaningful. The workshop will bring together individuals from the scientific and interpretive communities to learn about SCEC and EarthScope and develop interpretive programs on how geophysical instrumentation and deep drilling enhance our understanding of landscape formation and geological hazards in the earthquake-prone region of the San Andreas Fault.

EarthScope Primary Interpretive Themes
Workshops were held in 2003 and 2004 to develop a comprehensive interpretive plan involving EarthScope and the National Park Service (NPS; see www.ees.nmt.edu/RME/fall2004.html). The primary interpretive themes developed in the workshops are key ideas through which EarthScope’s nationally significant values can be conveyed to the public. Two of the overall NPS/EarthScope themes are particularly applicable to interpretation in the San Andreas Fault region:

• The EarthScope experiment – the most comprehensive exploration to date of the structure, dynamics, and geologic history of the North American continent – exemplifies the insatiable human drive to learn.
• EarthScope encourages a feeling of national interconnectedness – a continental sense of place – by openly inviting communities to actively participate in the experiment, and by fostering an understanding that their local environment and culture interact with other components within the larger, dynamic Earth system.

During the San Andreas Workshop, participants will work with scientists to develop themes specific to parks and museums in the region. By the end of the workshop, groups will develop and present interpretive programs that provide opportunities for visitors to connect SCEC and EarthScope observations to the physical and cultural aspects of their site. Here’s an example of a specific theme that might link SCEC and EarthScope science to dynamic Earth processes in the region:

• The same earthquake activity that threatens our lives also nourishes our spirits by creating the dramatic landscape of southern California.

Workshop Goals
EarthScope (www.earthscope.org) consists of three observatories: USArray, a system of seismometers managed by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS, www.iris.edu); Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), an array of GPS, strainmeter, and other geodetic instruments managed by UNAVCO, Inc. (www.unavco.org); and the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), a deep drillhole managed by Stanford University (www.stanford.edu) in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov). The Southern California Earthquake Center (www.scec.org) seeks to develop a comprehensive understanding of earthquakes in Southern California and elsewhere, and to communicate useful knowledge for reducing earthquake risk. The goals of the San Andreas Interpretive Workshop are consistent with those of EarthScope and SCEC.

• Build networks of scientists and interpreters. EarthScope and SCEC scientists will present overviews of their research and work with participants to develop interpretive programs on active tectonics and earthquake hazards of southern California.
• Produce interpretive programs and displays targeting specific audiences. Teams of participants will work with the scientists to develop interpretive materials on earthquakes and landscape development targeting visitors to parks and museums in the San Andreas Fault region.
• Collaborate with a variety of organizations to produce and disseminate data and products to interpretive professionals. The workshop will foster collaboration between interpreters and EarthScope, SCEC, IRIS, UNAVCO, USGS, and other organizations to expand education and outreach networks. Workshop products will be disseminated via print materials and the EarthScope and SCEC websites.
• Target diverse audiences to engage in interpretive programs and exhibits. Diverse backgrounds, learning styles and gender equity will be built explicitly into interpretive programs.

Interpretive Program Development
Participants and scientists will work in teams to assemble SCEC, EarthScope and other content for interpretive programs focused on transform plate boundary processes in southern California. Here are examples of three topics for interpretive programs that might be developed during the workshop.

1. Plate Tectonics and its bearing on Earthquakes and Landscape Development. Because of the SCEC and EarthScope goal to study the deforming edge of North America in an integrative way, interpretive programs should not “stand alone” as individual topics, but should feed into an integrative approach. This presentation might be the “big picture” program that provides the plate-tectonic context for other programs. Interpretive opportunities will also be developed by incorporating connections of the landscape and its formation processes to the region’s biology, ecology, culture, history, and economy.
2. Earthquakes. SCEC and EarthScope are advancing understanding of how and why earthquakes occur by measuring small-to-moderate sized earthquakes in the region, imaging the deep structure of the crust and mantle by studying how seismic waves from distant earthquakes travel to arrays of seismometers, and mapping the movement of Earth’s surface with strainmeters and GPS instruments. One group could develop a program emphasizing how advancement in knowledge about earthquake locations and processes impacts the safety, economy, history, and other aspects of society in southern California and beyond.
3. The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). The EarthScope SAFOD project represents “Big Science” that can be as captivating as anything being done by NASA. Core samples from the drillhole might be considered as rare and precious as moon rocks. Coupled with geophysical instruments monitoring the physical state of the world’s most well-known active fault zone, these rocks represent tangible information that interpreters can use to create opportunities for audiences to form their own intellectual and emotional connections to the active Earth in southern California.

IRIS “Active Earth” Kiosk
The Active Earth interpretive kiosk (www.iris.edu/about/ENO/aed.htm) has been developed by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. IRIS is the organization that deploys and maintains the seismic instrumentation for EarthScope. The kiosk includes a computer and touch-screen, and has basic modules on seismology (sample display at: www.iris.edu/activeearth/index.phtml?code=AGU2007). This material is designed to be complemented by modules focused on the region of the visitor center or museum hosting the kiosk. Funds are available to supply two or three sites participating in the workshop with their own “Active Earth” kiosk. The value of a kiosk, complete with computer, monitor, speakers, other electronic equipment, and housing with personalized logos, ranges from $3500 to $6000, depending on options chosen. After the workshop, participants will be invited to submit proposals outlining how they would use the kiosk to complement their overall interpretive program, and how they plan to maintain it. Sites will also be required to outline how they will help EarthScope, SCEC, IRIS, and UNAVCO develop content and interpretive strategies for a San Andreas module for the kiosk.