MEDIA ADVISORY: MU seismic experts host workshop for high school science teachers

Story Contact(s):
MU News Bureau, munewsbureau@missouri.edu, 573-882-6211

WHAT: Some scientists theorize that recent seismic activity demonstrates that the New Madrid fault zone continues to be active. Just in time for the bicentennial of some of the largest quakes in North American history, University of Missouri experts will host a week-long workshop on Missouri earthquakes and intraplate crustal deformation.

MU researchers and collaborators from the Missouri University Science Education Center, along with instructors of seismology and geodesy (scientific study of large portions of the earth), will mentor 20 high school science and junior college teachers from Missouri and other states surrounding the New Madrid Seismic Zone, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. The teachers will explore the history, topography and fault movement associated with the New Madrid Seismic Zone through lectures, laboratory activities, a 2-day field trip and computer simulations. Participants also will develop and adapt curricula for earthquake science and learn to use science notebooks.

WHO: Professor Lloyd Barrow of the College of Education and Associate Professor Paco Gomez of the Department of Geological Sciences will lead the workshop.

WHEN: July 12-20. A complete schedule of speakers is available at http://pire.missouri.edu/teachers.html.

WHERE: University of Missouri campus

NOTE: The workshop is part of National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for International Research and Education, a program funded by a $2.16 million grant from the National Science Foundation to train teachers from the region encompassing the New Madrid Seismic Zone about intraplate earthquakes and facilitate collaboration with Chinese seismic researchers.

For more information, please visit http://pire.missouri.edu.