Some students at Maeser Elementary School felt, heard and saw an earthquake in the classroom Wednesday as part of an earthquake safety presentation by American Red Cross volunteers.
Students stood on a board placed on top of a rock to simulate the wavy motion of an temblor. They also watched a videotape showing how a class reacted to the earthquake that rocked the Bay Area in October 1990.The Red Cross recently trained four Independence High School students - Clint Bushman, Kim Snow, J.T. Titara and Mike Weir - to teach earthquake safety. By the end of the June, Red Cross volunteers will have visited 30 Utah Valley schools and taught some 20,000 students as part of the Earthquake Survival Project, said Pat Bursie, project coordinator. The National Red Cross provided $25,000 for the program.
Bursie said after the grant runs out in August, four teams of volunteers, including eight or 10 students from Independence High, will continue to teach earthquake preparedness to schoolchildren. Her goal is to reach every classroom in Utah County. Students at Independence, Provo School District's alternative high school, earn community service hours, a graduation requirement, for participating.
The Red Cross is looking for volunteers, especially from the south county, to fill some of the teaching teams.
Bursie also wants to implement the program at Brigham Young University, having college students teach their peers about earthquake preparedness.
For more information, call the Red Cross at 373-8580.