2012-2013 K-12 Outreach Program

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PEER and the nees@berkeley laboratory at UC Berkeley have teamed together to offer educational programs for K-12 students about earthquake engineering. The 2012-2013 program has been redesigned to better integrate with the science standards for 4th and 6th grade and thus will only be offered to these class levels.

The program for the 2012-2013 school year consists of four components, which is slightly different from previous years:

PART 1: The first is a lecture and activity session in the classroom of an interested 4th or 6th Grade teacher. The lecture will be tailored to the grade level of the students and will be given by UC Berkeley Civil Engineering students who have been hired to teach this program. This lecture will be a powerpoint presentation that includes videos, hands-on demos, and interaction between the lecturer and the students. The lecture will include:

  • – introduction to basic earthquake science
  • – explanation of why earthquakes happen
  • – discussion about professions (like engineering) that address the effects of earthquakes on our communities and buildings
  • – introduction to key building systems and components that help buildings resist earthquake shaking safely
  • – instruction and background for the hands-on building activity

PART 2: As a follow up to the lecture, teachers will be given materials for a hands on activity. For this activity the students (in groups) will be given a kit that contains materials for the design and construction of their own small earthquake-resistant building models. The class will also be given a manual shake table to practice testing their models.

PART 3: Teachers and their students will be invited to attend the PEER Earthquake Simulator Laboratory and NEES@Berkeley Laboratory at UC Berkeley for a fieldtrip. There, they will have a tour of the labs as well as given a video presentation about tests done in the lab. There is transportation funding to facilitate these field trips for public schools.

PART 4: In the last part of this program our UC Berkeley students will come back to the school classroom for final testing of the student-designed structures. They will bring a shaking table that simulates earthquake movements allowing the students to get to test their building models (from the hands on activity). The classrooms should then return all materials borrowed after this activity is complete. NOTE: This differs from previous years. For the 2012-2013 school year we can not test student structures during the field trip and thus will test the structures in the classroom on this second visit.

Available dates for the 2012-2013 school year:

To schedule this program for your 4th or 6th grade students, you will need to choose one of the scheduling blocks shown below. Each block is broken into three weeks. The first week instructors will come and give a classroom presentation (PART 1). The second week will be the field trip (PART 3). During the third week, instructors will return to the classroom to test the building models made by the students on a portable shaking table (PART 4).  To schedule your school, please email our Earthquake Engineering Program Coordinator at peer_center@berkeley.edu with your block selection and dates. 

ASCEND School (two 6th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of Nov 5, 2012
Tuesday November 6th, 1:30-3:00pm
Thursday November 8th, 1:30-3:00pm
Field Trip (PART 2): Week of Nov 12, 2012
Thursday November 15th, 1:15-3:00pm
Shaking Table Testing at School (PART 3): Week of Nov 26, 2012
Thursday November 29th, 9:00-10am
Friday November 30th, 9:00-10 am

Korematsu Discovery Academy (two 4th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of Nov 12, 2012
Tuesday November 13th, 2:00-3:00pm
Thursday November 15th, 9:00-10:00 am
Field Trip: Week of Nov 26, 2012
Thursday November 29th, 1:15-3:00pm
Shaking Table Testing at School: Week of December 4, 2012
Tuesday December 4th, 2:00-3:00pm
Thursday December 6th, 2:00-3:00pm

Hillcrest School (two 4th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of January 21, 2013
Thursday January 24th, 12:00-1:00 am
Thursday January 24th, 1:00-2:00 pm
Field Trip: Week of January 28, 2013
Thursday January 31st, 12:00-2:00 pm
Shaking Table Testing at School: Week of February 4, 2013
Thursday February 7th, 12:00-1:00 pm
Thursday February 7th, 1:00-2:00 pm

Peralta Elementary (4th & 5th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of January 28, 2013
Monday January 28th, 9:00-10:00 am
Tuesday January 29th, 1:00-2:00 pm
Field Trip: Week of February 4, 2013
Wednesday February 6th, 9:00-11:00 am
Shaking Table Testing at School: Week of February 11, 2013
Thursday February 14th, 12:45-1:45 pm
Thursday February 14th, 1:45-2:45 pm

NEA Community Learning Center (two 6th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of February 11, 2013
Tuesday February 12th, 12:30-1:30 pm
Tuesday February 12th, 1:30-2:30 pm
Field Trip: Week of February 18, 2013
Thursday February 21st, 12:00-2:00 pm
Shaking Table Testing at School: Week of February 25, 2013
Tuesday February 26th, 9:00-10:00 am
Thursday February 28th, 9:00-10:00 am

James Madison Middle School (two 6th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of February 18, 2013
Wednesday February 20th, 9:00-10:00 am
Wednesday February 20th, 10:00-11:00 am
Field Trip: Week of February 25, 2013
Wednesday February 27th, 9:00-10:30 am
Shaking Table Testing at School: Week of March 11, 2013
Wednesday March 13th, 9:00-10:00 am
Wednesday March 13th, 10:00-11:00 am

Washington Elementary (two 4th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of March 4, 2013
Monday March 4th, 9:00-10:00 am
Tuesday March 5th, 9:00-10:00 am
Field Trip: Week of March 11, 2013
Thursday March 14th, 12:00-1:30 pm
Shaking Table Testing at School: Week of March 18, 2013
Friday March 22nd, 9:00-10:00 am
Friday April 12th, 9:00-10:00 am

Martin Luther King Elementary School (two 4th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of March 11, 2013
Tuesday March 12th 9:00-10:00 am
Wednesday March 13th 9:00-10:00 am
Field Trip: Week of March 18, 2013
Wednesday March 20th 9:00-10:30 am
Shaking Table Testing at School: Week of April 8, 2013
Wednesday April 10th, 8:45-9:45 am
Wednesday April 10th, 9:45-10:45 am

Coliseum College Prep Academy (two 6th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of April 1, 2013
Tuesday April 2nd, 9:00-10:00 am
Tuesday April 2nd, 1:00-2:00 pm
Field Trip: Week of April 8th, 2013
Thursday April 11th, 12:00-2:00 pm

Bella Vista Elementary (two 4th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of April 8, 2013
Tuesday April 9th, 1:00-2:00 pm
Friday April 12th, 1:00-2:00 pm
Field Trip: Week of April 15, 2013
Wednesday April 17th, 9:00-11:00 am

Laurel Elementary (two 4th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of April 15, 2013
Monday April 15th, 9:00-10:00 am
Monday April 15th, 10:00-11:00 am
Field Trip: Week of April 22, 2013
Wednesday April 24th, 9:00-11:00 am

Edna Brewer Middle School (two 6th grade classrooms)

Presentation (PART 1): Week of April 22, 2013
Thursday April 25th, 8:15-9:10 am
Thursday April 25th, 9:13-10:10 am
Thursday April 25th, 12:09-1:04 pm
Thursday April 25th, 1:07-2:02 pm
Field Trip: Week of April 29, 2013
Monday May 6th, 9:30-11:30 am
Monday May 6th, 12:00-2:00 pm

There is funding available to support bus travel to the field trip, if requested by the teacher.  We encourage teachers to coordinate with other teachers in their school so that two classrooms from each school can participate in the program and share a school bus for the field trip. 

Further questions? Contact the program coordinator Heidi Tremayne (formerly Faison).

Other important and useful information is in the following documents: