Seismic Outreach

About Seismic Outreach

Seismic Outreach is an annual program that gives UCSD students from all majors the opportunity to reach out to local San Diego 4th through 6th grade classes. As a part of the program, UCSD volunteers have the chance to teach younger students about earthquake science and engineering. The main objective of Seismic Outreach is to introduce young students to the field of engineering while promoting growth in communication, teamwork, and creativity.

Volunteering

Each academic year we host about 12 schools and over 1,000 students -- therefore, this program is ONLY possible through the time and effort put in by volunteers. Volunteers do not need any background experience or knowledge to join the team; there will be a training session prior to the field trip. Students of all majors and backgrounds are encouraged to volunteer in the program.

Why else should you get involved? Not only can you add this experience to your resume, but it’s a great opportunity for underclassmen to get involved in engineering and meet fellow engineering students.

If interested, please sign up using this form - https://forms.gle/vdBTvo4Kroog9T2L9

SCSE’s Seismic Outreach Team hosts the program during the Fall (September-December), Winter (January-March), and Spring (April-June) quarters of each academic year. The program consist of the following four phases:

Presentations

Seismic Outreach committee members will visit your school to give an overview of the curriculum (earthquake sciences, iterative design process, etc.), introduce the competition (performance index, constraints, etc.), and hand over the K'nex kits for the students to use in the competition.

Experimentation

At the teacher's own pace, there are four mini experiments that they will go through with the class. This will allow students to get a feel for the K'nex materials, to see what works and what doesn't, in preparation for the next phase.

Construction

Students will get into groups of four and build their towers, taking into consideration what was learned from the experimentation phase. Students will also sketch up construction drawings, consider material costs, and prepare a presentation that they will give during the interview at the field trip.

Field Trip

Students will bring their completed towers and prepared presentations to UC San Diego, where they will be interviewed, given a campus tour, and test their towers on a shake table. The trip concludes with an award ceremony.

If your class or school is interested in the Seismic Outreach program, please complete the Interest form - https://forms.gle/bVhmWgcodvk6TcMi6 .

We will follow up with additional information.

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