“Make an Earthquake” at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo, October 23-24

IRIS is participating in the first-ever USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo being held on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The free event takes place on Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24, from 10:00am until 5:30pm each day.

The IRIS exhibit (Booth 396), located on 4th Street, NW, just south of Madison Drive, will feature our popular family-friendly "Make an Earthquake" activity. Visitors will jump up and down to create an earthquake and then watch the seismic waves they produced. Other activities include learning about our planet using the Active Earth Display, an interactive exhibit that uses real-time data; discovering how a seismometer works; and causing a fault to rupture.

In addition to the IRIS booth, visitors can follow the "Dynamic Earth" track and learn how our wonderful landscapes and scenery are caused by the active, changing and often violent processes of a dynamic earth. Activities in this track include using GPS to measure the motion of the Earth's tectonic plates with EarthScope/UNAVCO, exploring volcanoes with Michigan Tech, diving to the bottom of the ocean to unravel the mystery of the extinction of the dinosaurs with the Deep Earth Academy and the Museum of the Earth, and learning about climate change by examining Antarctic sediment samples with ANDRILL. At other booths in the "Dynamic Earth" track, visitors can learn the many ways NASA is doing Earth Science; become a Rock Detective and discover which way the North American Plate is carrying Washington, DC; learn about rocks as the foundation of all we stand on with the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration; and walk through a Crystal Cave to find minerals, fossils and even rocks that change color under ultraviolet light with The Gem, Lapidary & Mineral Society of Washington, DC. Visitors can also explore the many other exhibits that are related to the Earth Sciences as well as exhibits in other science and engineering fields.

There will be more than 550 exhibits with 1500 hands-on activities and over 50 stage shows and performances on four stages during the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo. More than 150,000 visitors are expected over the two days! Be sure to check the USA Science & Engineering Festival  web site to plan your visit and keep informed about the latest events!