The U.S. Educational Seismology Network (USESN)

Two years ago, a new national science outreach initiative, the U.S. Educational Seismology Network (USESN), was initiated under the auspices of the IRIS Consortium. The mission of the USESN is to promote the use of seismo¬graphs and seismic data for science education. This project has emerged out of several independent educational seismology initiatives, whose collective efforts have resulted in the development of a 300+ station national school seismograph network. The USESN effort is envisioned to include support for a full range of educational seismograph options, from display-oriented, stand-alone systems to networked broadband instruments. USESN seeks to provide an organizational structure for the coordination of the numerous educational seismology activities that are developing across the country. In this presentation, we focus on the goals and opportunities for a collective educational seismology enterprise. The primary goals of the USESN initiative are disseminate high-quality curricular materials and educational services that promote the use of seismology in science education; and (3) provide an organizational framework for coordination and advocacy of educational seismology across the country. Based on discussions at a 2003 national workshop, we summarize the primary goals for the initiative in terms of priorities for curriculum development, professional development, technical issues, and organizational structure. Additional information about the USESN initiative can be found at http://www.indiana.edu/~usesn and http://www.iris.edu/.