Shakes and Quakes is an outreach program designed to stimulate young minds and allow them to better understand the way in which civil engineering structures respond to severe earthquakes. EERI@UND visits local area classrooms and demonstrates building responses to earthquakes through the use of a portable shaking table. Students are asked to build LEGO and K'NEX models and these student-designed buildings are tested on the shaking table to see how they respond under "real" earthquake ground motions.

 

MS. WIZARD DAY: Mentoring Program

Ms. Wizard Day is an annual day of activities at the University of Notre Dame designed to encourage young girls to pursue careers in Science and Engineering. Members of EERI@UND annually participate in the Career Fair with several interactive displays. The activities typically include a shake table demonstration where the girls observe the behavior of K'NEX buildings of their own design and reinforce concepts of period and resonance. A poster board display introduces basic concepts of Earthquake Hazards, Risk and Mitigation along with elementary dynamics concepts.

 

HIGH SCHOOL BRIDGE ACTIVITY: Instructional Program

The High School Bridge Activity is designed to demonstrate the importance of calculus to area seniors. Students calculate the deflection of a bridge model using integration techniques, use RISA to determine the deflection, and measure the deflection on a three-foot bridge model with the help of members of EERI@UND and ASCE. A major goal of this activity is to introduce engineering as a possible major to high school seniors.

 

SCIENCE ALIVE!: Informational Program

This is a new outreach program that we are exploring this year. Science Alive! is an all-day exhibition designed to introduce children to various science and math related fields. It is hosted by the St. Joesph County Public Library in South Bend, Indiana. We are still working out the details, but we hope to run a booth in conjunction with the student chapter of ASCE.

 

EXPANDING YOUR HORIZONS: Mentoring Program

Expanding Your Horizons is a national day of activities designed to encourage young girls to pursue careers in Science and Engineering, hosted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). This is also a new program for EERI@UND. We are in the process of creating an exhibit.