Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
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Paciic Tsunami Museum:
The Paciic Tsunami Museum (http://www.tsunami.org/) is
a nonproit organization located in Hilo, Hawaii, and is dedicated to promoting public
tsunami education for the people of Hawaii and the Paciic Region. The museum com-
bines scientiic information and oral histories of tsunami survivors through a series
of exhibits and lectures that explain the tsunami phenomenon, tsunami myths and
legends, the Paciic Tsunami Warning system, and public safety measures.
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School curriculum:
Several tsunami education curriculums exist for various school
grades. The WEMD has developed tsunami curriculum for grades K-6 and 7-12 that
has been distributed both nationally among NTHMP members and internationally
via the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC). In the United States, each
state has different laws governing education requirements, and in many cases it is
left to the school district or teacher to decide what will be taught in the classroom. A
curriculum for northern California schools has also been developed in collaboration
with the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group. The Alaska Tsunami Education Program
(http://www.aktsunami.com/index.html) provides student resources, lesson plans
(K-12), multimedia resources, and teacher training workshops. Middle school curricu-
lum has also been developed for schools in Guam.
TsunamiTeacher
is a web-based,
distance-learning product (http://ioc3.unesco.org/TsunamiTeacher/) of the ITIC that
consolidates tsunami education materials together at the global level and includes
education modules, notes for trainers, workshop formats and evaluation materials,
media resources, and mitigation resources. The ITIC provides access to the WEMD
school curriculum, as well as the ITIC-developed “I Invite You to Know the Earth” educa-
tion series for pre-school, 2nd to 4th grades, and 5th and 8th grades. Tsunami-related
lesson plans are also available at The Bridge, an online teacher's resource provided
by NOAA Sea Grant and the National Marine Educators Association (http://www2.
vims.edu/bridge/DATA.cfm?Bridge_Location=archive0105.html) and at the Discovery
Channel's
Tsunami Teacher's Guide
(http://school.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/
tsunami/). School curriculums for tsunamis have been developed also by the Depart-
ment of Education and Training, Government of Australia (http://www.det.wa.edu.
au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/pathinders/disasters/tsunamis/).
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School drills:
In addition to curriculum, many U.S. schools in tsunami hazard zones
participate in earthquake/tsunami drills on a yearly basis and invite emergency man-
agers to give talks in the classroom and at Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings.
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Stop Disasters
simulation game:
The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(ISDR) developed a tsunami module for its disaster simulation game
Stop Disasters
to
teach children how to build communities that are resilient to tsunamis (http://www.
stopdisastersgame.org/en/home.html). The interactive, web-based disaster simulation
game has players decide how and where to build communities and what additional
preparedness and mitigation strategies are needed to protect at-risk populations. A
teacher's guide is also included to incorporate the game into lesson plans.
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State and county fairs:
Fairs can be effective outreach opportunities, especially for
individuals who may not live in tsunami-prone areas but are likely to visit these areas.
