Strings and Things for Locating Earthquakes: an Educational Tool for Introductory Seismology

When one hears that an earthquake has occurred, one of the first questions is: where was it? For the general public, this question oftentimes determines the importance of another question: how big was it? Once learning the location and size, some might wonder how this information was obtained. We present here an interactive, three-dimensional analog computer that uses a map, strings, and a time-distance scale to find the location of an earthquake (lat, long and depth) based on seismic wave arrival times. We have also developed presentations and educational materials to communicate the ideas used for locating earthquakes to the general public and students in elementary, middle, and high school. Current outreach activities will be presented including education of student teachers at The University of Memphis, website development, and affiliation with Lake County High School in Tiptonville, TN. The device is suitable for both permanent mounting in a science museum or can be transported to outreach locations. The analog earthquake locator is utilized by both visitors and student teachers in the lecture room at the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at The University of Memphis and is taken to classrooms for education outreach.