Earthquakes-Activities

	Published by Australian Academy of Science
Activities \| Fixing the cracks in disaster mitigation

Global Education (Australia)
- Natural disasters teaching activities – a series of 11 activities looking at disaster preparedness, emergency relief and response.
Xpeditions (National Geographic, USA)
- Dealing with disasters – students study potential natural hazards in their community and discuss community preparation and response.
- The impact of natural hazards around the world – students investigate the negative consequences of natural hazards and learn to prepare for them.
- Natural disasters – exploring plate tectonics – introduces students to the concept of plate tectonics and the natural disasters that can occur when plates shift.
Microsoft, USA
- How do earthquakes affect buildings? – students simulate earthquakes of different magnitudes online and see how they affect buildings.
Discovery School, USA
- Landslides – a lesson plan for landslides and other hazards.
- Constructing earthquake-proof buildings – explores different materials, shapes and design options for buildings.
- Earthquakes: Getting ready for the big one – students investigate different types of earthquake waves and consider building substrate and construction in preparation for an earthquake.
Cable News Network (USA)
- Lesson plan: Indonesian earthquakes – students locate areas of earthquake activity, conduct research on disaster prevention and design an education program.
United States Geological Survey
- A model of three faults – students observe fault movements on a model of the Earth's surface.
- How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake? – students calculate the difference in strength between earthquakes of different magnitudes.
- Word search puzzles – a series of nine word search puzzles of words related to earthquakes.
The Franklin Institute (USA)
- A journey to the center of the Earth – a website created by students that contains earth science facts and activities.
Digital Library for Earth System Education (USA)
- Living in earthquake country – explores seismic waves, earthquake prediction, earthquake magnitude and intensity, and the damage caused by earthquakes.
- Evidence for plate tectonics – students investigate the evidence for plate tectonics.
Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools (University of Bristol, UK)
- Explore a 3D model – students experiment with simple sine waves to make the complex wave forms of earthquakes.
- Natural frequency experiments – students investigate natural frequency using plasticine balls and wire.
- Resonance experiment – students use plasticine balls and wire to investigate resonance.
- Inelastic deformation experiments – students investigate inelastic deformation using a coat hanger.
Faultine: Seismic science at the epicentre (Exploratorium, USA)
- Liquefaction – students investigate what happens to sandy or fine-grained soils during an earthquake.
- Seismic slinky – students use a slinky to model earthquake waves.
- Highway seismograph – students make a seismograph in a moving car.
Daily Lesson Plan (New York Times, USA)
- Feeling vulnerable – students examine the connection between global poverty and natural disasters.

External sites are not endorsed by the Australian Academy of Science.

Page updated May 2007.

The Australian Foundation for Science is also a supporter of Nova.

This topic is sponsored by Geoscience Australia.