This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
If you live anywhere between North Carolina and Connecticut, chances are you felt the earth shake a couple of hours ago. If you have kids, they are probably asking you lots of questions--or will be, soon. Here are some resources to help you answer them, adapted from the blog of the National Science Teachers Association:
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USGS: Earthquakes for Kids https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/
Yahoo Kids! Plate Tectonics Page http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/Science-and-Nature/The-Earth/Geology/Plate-Tectonics
Scholastic: Reading the Richter Scale http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4892
CBS News: How Earthquakes are Measured http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-202_162-10007016.html?tag=page
Scientific American: Seconds Before the Big One – Progress in Earthquake Alarms https://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tsunami-seconds-before-the-big-one
MSNBC: How Quake Prediction Works (or not) http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/11/6247882-how-quake-prediction-works-or-not
USGS Earthquake Science Explained (10 articles) http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2006/21/
Earthquake Teaching Resources http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/earthquakes/
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To get more involved, join the Quake Catcher Network, a citizen science project based at the University of California, Riverside, and get your own earthquake sensor:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/project.cfm?id=seismic-sensor-network