The strong-motion accelerometer at Ewing Young Elementary School in Newberg was down, so PNSN field engineer Marc Biundo and I visited to fix the problem.

We had to be patient and work within breaks during class periods, during conversation with principal Kevin Milner, we heard background on how this school recently re-branded itself as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics focus (STEM).  Kevin described how this unique focus has caught the attention of parents around the NE Willamette Valley.  What an excellent partnership – STEM school and seismic network!

Recently, the 4th grade class has been learning about the wonderful topic of Plate Tectonics. This provided an excellent opportunity to offer a guest lecture to the class.  I ended up speaking to the class about earthquakes, plate tectonics, seismic monitoring, and earthquake hazard in western Oregon.  The class was impressively attentive and eager to demonstrate what they had been learning. An excellent experience for us.  The state of awareness the students have is a testament to the great work being done by Principal Milner, 4th grade teacher Dawn Reed, and her colleague and 5th grade teacher Terry Evers!

The introductory remarks to the class:

The students were fascinated by the catalog of earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest.  We spend an hour looking at events and data on pnsn.org, and showed them how to search for data themselves.  Budding seismologists in the making!