In the News
Boston College and St. Paul School Shake Things Up
The Boston College Educational Seismology Project is a community outreach program operated by the Weston Observatory in partnership with the Boston College Lynch School of Education. St. Paul School is located in Wellesley, MA and participated in the project during the Fall 2008-2009 semester
Seismographs measure the pulse of the Earth and provide direct information about earthquakes, plate tectonics, and the structure of the Earth’s interior. Having their own seismograph in the classroom gives students a way of collecting real world data and use it to make scientific measurements. They gain a unique understanding of the internal structure of the Earth and how it is always changing. They get to participate in the same process that scientists follow when making a discovery.
Jack McKinney, Grade 4 - I was interested in how the computer recorded the earthquakes because of vibrations of the Earth’s surface. I like science because inventions like this can save lives, if we can detect the earthquake and send emergency help right away.
Irish Seismology in Schools
The 44th annual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, held January 2009, featured over 1,100 students presenting 500 projects. Students came from each of the 32 counties in Ireland, 201 different schools, representing the future of science, engineering, mathematics and technology. In the ‘Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences’ category there were 98 projects presented.
Denis Patterson and Shane Curry, part of the Seismology in Schools (Seismeolaíocht sa Scoil) Pilot Program, presented a project on “Seismic Activity in the British Isles and the Wider World”. Their study explored the recording potential of the SEP seismometer, and a comparison and analysis of teleseism recordings, man-made noise, and the microseism.
Two awards were received: “International Year of Planet Award” and first prize in the “Category Award: Chemical, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences”. Congratulations!
