From Educational Seismometers to Real Seismic Data – Practical Activities in High School Education

The poster presents a series of activities carried out at the ”Tudor Vianu” Theoretical High School in Giurgiu, Romania, in partnership with the National Institute for Earth Physics Research and Development (INCDFP).The idea behind these activities has a story. In 2023, three students from our school participated in the “Earthquake Hunters” competition, organized by the Education for Science Community. Within this competition, they built a seismometer using LEGO parts, an accelerometer, and an Arduino microcontroller, winning first prize. As a result, our school was equipped with a semi-professional Raspberry Shake seismometer and was included in the RoEduSeis network (an educational network of seismometers installed in schools).

Having created the necessary framework for promoting educational activities focused on presenting science and technology, we set out to expand the range of activities and create a space where students could be involved in practical activities, both in designing and building devices capable of detecting vibrations and in the qualitative analysis of seismic activity.

During the workshops, we presented and tested seismological education activities by making use of educational scenarios developed within the RoEduSeis project.

Students had the opportunity to follow an inquiry-based approach to real-world problems: earthquakes and their effects on the environment and on people.

The workshops included:

• A webinar conducted by researcher Dr. Dragoș Tătaru from the National Institute for Earth Physics Research and Development, where students learned how earthquakes occur, how they are detected, and how they are recorded.
• Practical activities regarding the generation, recording, and localization of earthquakes, using RoEduSeis resources; recording vibrations using a piezo-sensor system and a computer, and locating the epicenter of an earthquake using the application https://shakenet.raspberryshake.org/apps. Students had the opportunity to carry out activities complementary to the school curriculum, locating earthquakes and analyzing their characteristics.
• The construction of an educational Slinky seismometer, an instrument capable of recording vibrations and ground motion.Twenty-five students, guided by Dragoș Tătaru and Eduard Năstase from the Geo Edu Lab – National Institute for Earth Physics Research and Development, assembled and tested the educational Slinky seismometer.

The interaction of students with the research environment was a source of inspiration for STEM education. Students can be motivated to study STEM subjects through research activities and can learn about the field of seismology directly from researchers working at the National Institute for Earth Physics Research and Development.

The innovative element of the events lies in its interdisciplinary approach: physics – geography – technology – programming. Starting from the knowledge acquired in  the classroom , students embarked on a journey into the field of seismic waves and discovered how these waves can be detected using technology, electronics, and computer science, gaining essential technological knowledge that goes beyond what is learned at school.