2005 MCEER Quake and Shake
On Monday, February 14th, twenty-four third-graders from Sheridan Hill Elementary
School in Clarence, New York participated in the 2005
UB-MCEER Quake & Shake. At the event, the students built popsicle-stick
structures according to earthquake design principles and then tested them
on the shake table in Ketter Hall.
MCEER deputy director Andre Filiatrault made a presentation to the class
on earthquake design and provided pointers on how to build the structures,
which were required to support a masonry brick at a height of 12" above
a wood base.
The students were divided up into the following teams:
- Group 1 “UB Earthquakes”
- Group 2 “UB Structures”
- Group 3 “Big Builders”
- Group 4 “Super Skyscrapers”
- Group 5 “Structure Monkeys”
Each team built a structure using 150 popsicle sticks, a bottle of Elmer's glue and a roll of dental floss that was then subjected to ground motions from historical earthquakes. After the famous “UB Rumble,” all structures were declared “earthquake proof,” and each student received a certificate naming him or her an "honorary structural engineer."
The event was covered by local media, including Channel 4's "Why Guy" Kevin O'Neill.
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