EARTHSCOPE OUTREACH TO PARK RANGERS AND MUSEUM EDUCATORS: CONNECTING THE PUBLIC TO THE DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE OF NORTH AMERICA

EarthScope is an NSF-sponsored program to explore the structure and evolution of the North American continent and understand the physical processes that cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A series of workshops organized by the EarthScope National Office is training interpretive professionals in parks and museums to incorporate EarthScope data and science results into programs that engage the public on landscape-forming processes and natural hazards (www.earthscope.org/eno/parks). Park rangers and museum educators are in a unique position to engage the public on the relevance of Earth processes by incorporating EarthScope discoveries as they are being made. The series of three-day workshops combines presentations by EarthScope scientists with interpretive methods to convey stories of the dynamic landscape of North America. Participants work with the scientists to develop interpretive programs and exhibits that include observations from EarthScope seismic, GPS, and other geophysical instrumentation. The initial workshop, held at the Mt. Rainier National Park Education Center, focused on results of seismic and geodetic observations from the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The workshop explored how EarthScope data and scientific results enhance the "sense of place" represented by the dynamic landscape of an active subduction zone. Other workshops focused on continental rifting in the Basin and Range Province and transform plate boundary processes along the San Andreas Fault. Future EarthScope interpretive workshops will highlight the Colorado Plateau-Rio Grande Rift, Yellowstone-Teton, and Rocky Mountain regions.