A school seismometer network and community science program
SchoolShake is run by seismologists at the University of Victoria and the Geological Survey of Canada, in partnership with the Hakai Institute and with support from the CSEG Foundation and other donors. SchoolShake involves no cost for participating Schools.
Each participating school will receive a miniaturized Raspberry Shake (RS) seismometer.
Live seismometer feeds and related educational tools and outreach are used to engage schoolchildren in geoscience. Links to view live waveforms from participating schools and earthquakes located with the SchoolShake network are publicly accessible. Lesson plans designed for SchoolShake are available in Teacher Resources.
Real-time waveforms from all Raspberry Shakes in the network and nearby national seismic stations, together with epicenters of local earthquakes as they are detected and located, are illustrated on a simple web interface available to schools and the general public.
The Raspberry Shake streams data securely and in real-time to our SchoolShake server, which runs modern, observatory grade earthquake processing and analysis software.
Students
Students will see first-hand how their SchoolShake instruments detect and locate earthquakes, discover the forces that shape our mountains and learn how to prepare for an earthquake or tsunami.
Researchers
Seismologists will use the improved earthquake detection threshold to characterize poorly-understood crustal faults thought to underlie Vancouver Island.
Society
Researchers will gain vital records of ground shaking in the event of any sizeable local earthquake. SchoolShake will contribute towards improving seismic hazard assessments.
Meet the team
Ed Nissen
Ed is a Professor and Canada Research Chair at UVic, who studies earthquakes using satellite and drone imagery while drinking copious quantities of tea.
Andrew Schaeffer
Andrew is a Research Scientist in Seismology at Geological Survey of Canada and Adjunct Professor at UVic.
Camille Brillon
Camille is a Physical Scientist in Seismology at the Geological Survey of Canada and a Research Associate at UVic.
Erin Douglas
Erin is an educator with over 10 years of experience teaching science in BC and was instrumental in developing the SchoolShake lesson plans.
Former Students
Élyse Gaudreau
Cathryn Hale
