March 29, 2024, by Lisa Teas Conaway

“Now dig out a section of your layer,” scientist Abbey Nastan calls out to the group of high schoolers arrayed on the side of a short steep hill just off the Cross Trail. A chorus of scraping and scratching commences as bits of compacted ash find their way into waiting sample bags. 

Abbey, a geologist with Alaska Volcano Observatory, is visiting Sitka as part of our Scientist in the Schools program. Abby visited classrooms at Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High School all over the course of just one week, talking with students about her path as a geoscientist, teaching them to sample and describe the ubiquitous local ash deposits of Mt Edgecumbe, and introducing them to other volcano monitoring tools. Students used simple seismographs called Raspberry Shakes to simulate small earthquakes by jumping in different patterns and places near the equipment, and then learned how seismology is used to monitor volcanoes, including our own local volcano, Mt. Edgecumbe.

Our Scientists in the Schools program connects young people in Sitka to real science and scientists throughout the school year!

We are grateful to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines for their continued support for this program, and to the Alaska Earthquake Center for providing Raspberry Shakes and training for local educators on how to use them as teaching tools.