K-12 Tsunami Education from the California Geological Survey

California's northern coast, endangered during the 1964 Alaska tsunami

From the California Geological Survey:

With the fifth anniversary of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami coming up on Dec. 26th, 2009, most of you recall the story of Tilly Smith, the 10-year-old credited with saving over 100 people on a beach in Thailand based on what she learned about tsunamis in school during a geography lesson.

The California Geological Survey (CGS) is looking for ways to best to educate and prepare California students about tsunamis, tsunami hazards, and what they should do if they are in an area at risk. Newly released statewide tsunami inundation maps produced by CGS, the California Emergency Management Agency, and the Tsunami Research Center at USC are now available (link below). The maps show the potential flooding hazard for all vulnerable populated areas based on some of the worst-case tsunami scenarios for California. In addition to the maps, the state is making available new tsunami education videos, a new CGS Tsunami Note, and other information that could be useful when teaching students about tsunamis and tsunami hazards in California. This information is posted at: http://www.conservation.ca.gov/CGS/geologic_hazards/Tsunami/Pages/education.aspx

Several state agencies are working together to initiate a statewide tsunami education plan for March, during the proposed “National Tsunami Preparedness Week.” Your feedback on any aspect of using these new tsunami maps in the classroom over the next few weeks will be a great value to help us prepare for this new education campaign.

Rick Wilson

California Geological Survey

Light a Candle in the Darkness: Volunteering for Science in Your Community

Photo Source: Modesto Bee

(Posted originally at Geotripper)
Here in California, K-12 education is in pretty much a chaotic mess, and our children are being shortchanged in the worst way. Class size is growing, budgets are getting slashed, and some of our best teachers are being fired. These are bleak times, and our community college system is no better off. But I am proud of what my colleagues at Modesto Junior College are doing. You can read the story here, but in short we are bringing fifth graders onto our campus every other Friday to give them an experience in science and to introduce them to our college campus. Most of our division (biology, chemistry, physics and earth sciences) is volunteering to make the program a success. From the article:

About 60 students watched and performed experiments as part of MJC's Science Educational Encounters for Kids. Every second and fourth Friday of the month, fifth-graders converge on campus for a science lecture and then two 45-minute labs.

"We are drawing members of the community into the college. Some of these students maybe don't think college is a possibility, and we want to show them this is their community college," said Brian Sanders, dean of MJC's science, math and engineering division."Activities are a blend of fun and interest with real science," Sanders said.

"We're not just playing with bubbles. We're matching the labs with the state's fifth-grade science standards."

And...these kids are a lot of fun, too. Full of energy and enthusiasm! Contact me if you would like more info on how we set up the program (hayesg at mjc dot edu).