As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This project is a time sensitive educational response to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 and was followed by major aftershocks. This project builds on the intense worldwide interest in that disaster by developing and distributing media resources for the public and educators explaining the scientific research into tectonic and fluvial processes of this highly vulnerable region encompassing the Himalayas of Nepal, the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta of Bangladesh and India, and the mountains of northeastern India. Project deliverables include PBS NewsHour broadcasts and online stories, short videos for classroom use, 3D/2D videos for public screenings in museums, Earth Magazine blogs and articles, and DVDs. Making new research understandable and accessible to the public is an important activity of the U.S. research enterprise. NSF is making a substantial investment in earth sciences research to increase knowledge of the conditions and processes that periodically cause earthquakes, landslides, and flooding. This education project leverages those investments and the public interest in the recent Nepal earthquake with a major public engagement opportunity that has the potential for reaching millions of students, teachers, and the public both in the U.S. and in other vulnerable regions.
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