The Girl Scout motto is, “Be Prepared,” and with the help of Professor Judy Mitrani-Reiser, the Daisy and Brownie troop from Barclay Elementary/Middle School is ready in case disaster strikes! Professor Mitrani-Reiser, an expert in the field of structural dynamics and earthquake engineering, worked collaboratively with Girl Scout troop leaders and graduate students from the Whiting School of Engineering, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the JHU School of Medicine to create age-appropriate activities for the group, who visited campus on May 16, 2016. Activities included learning how to use whistles and flashlights to signal distress in Morse code during an emergency, decorating and filling emergency kits with essentials for themselves and their families, observing structural movements in earthquakes using the Department’s shake table, and learning about the strength of structures by creating and testing their own marshmallow and spaghetti ‘buildings.’ This interactive lesson helped the young ladies achieve their Emergency Preparedness badge.
Special thanks to Xilei Zhao (Ph.D. student, Dept. of Civil Engineering) and Lauren Sauer (Ph.D. student, Dept. of Health Policy and Management) who helped lead the activities as well as all those who volunteered their time. The event was a great success due to your generosity and commitment to our community!
