About the show:

The Earthquake Show is a 15-minute educational, interactive presentation on the science behind earthquakes and the importance of earthquake safety.

The Earthquake Show was developed by participants in the Southern California Earthquake Center Internship Program and staff from the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Additional funding for the development of this program was provided by the Undergraduate Research Associates Program (URAP) at the University of Southern California.

The Earthquake Show is currently being performed at the California Science Center as an offering of the ‘Science Spectacular!’ program series in the Tech Review theatre in the Creative World Gallery. We invite you to perform the Earthquake Show at your institution and it can be modified to suit your needs. It may be used royalty free but we request that credit is given to the Southern California Earthquake Center and the California Science Center. For questions about implementing the Earthquake Show at your institution please contact Robert de Groot at the Southern California Earthquake Center.

The content of the show is designed with a target audience of children ages 6-12, but can also be enjoyed by an audience of diverse ages.

The Earthquake Show has three main learning goals. The audience will learn:

1. The composition of the earth, where earthquakes form, the basics of tectonic plate movement and how that causes earthquakes.
2. How to prepare for earthquakes by means of creating a Disaster Supply Kit, what belongs in a Disaster Supply Kit, and why.
3. How to stay safe during an earthquake using the drop, cover, and hold on method.

The show is performed by two characters:

• The Lead: This character is an earthquake expert who is absolutely ecstatic about earthquakes. The Lead is the kind of person who sits at home by the seismograph waiting for earthquakes to happen.
• The Assistant: This character is very naïve when it comes to earthquake knowledge and experience with them. The Assistant also represents the “general public’s” knowledge of earthquakes and knows about things like “earthquake weather” and the “doorway” myth of earthquake safety.