Brian Campbell: My name is Brian Campbell with the U.S .
Geological Survey Office of Communications. And I am here
with Mariana, at the Art Center College of Design in
Pasadena, California. And we are going to be discussing
an exciting opportunity for you to get involved with the
ShakeOut Scenario and the science behind it even after
the rally on November 13th. Mariana, could you tell
us a little bit about After Shock?
Mariana Amatullo: Right. So Art Center College of Design is
part of the Steering Committee of the Great Southern
California ShakeOut. We've been involved in organizing some
of the communication components of this fantastic effort,
with the multi-faceted communication initiative that has a
source book, that has public awareness media, and that has
a civic event that culminates ShakeOut week on Friday, November 14th.
But After Shock is one of the most exciting components of our efforts.
It's a partnership with USGS and the Institute for the Future and
it is inviting the community to look at the scenario and interface
with it in an online simulation or one of these new types of
serious games that are now a very important trend in bringing
science, bringing information in an engaging way that can provoke
community interaction. So After Shock launches on November 14th
after the drill and it will be an opportunity for the community
to tell their story about coping with the aftermath of the ShakeOut Earthquake.
That sounds wonderful. Tell me Mariana, how is After Shock going
to be incorporating the US Geological Survey science into the game?
We've partnered with USGS and Institute for the Future here at
our center from day one and took all the narrative of the scenario.
As the platform; ask the foundation of this experience that you
will encounter once you log on to After Shock. We are inviting
people to log on a few weeks before November 14th. The website is
www.aftershock.net and you will be given a name or password and
starting November 14th, for a span of three weeks, you will be
living in Southern California after this large earthquake.
So there will be daily missions that you will have. It might become
getting to your job from your home or bringing your kids to school
without using freeways or bridges because they will be compromised
by infrastructure we will let you live this virtual experience of
being in a community that is coping with the aftermath of ShakeOut.
And hopefully that experience will allow you to develop skills and
remember and absorb information in a way that has never been done before.
We are used to brochures, to public service announcements,
to a lot of wonderful work that has been done in the last few years
to get the communities ready; to be more resilient if we have a catastrophic quake.
But this is bringing social media and technology and applying
it in a way that is really engaging and hopefully will make a
difference for everyone, because we will learn about the hard
science behind the scenario in a way that is much more
approachable for the lay person, for the person who is not a scientist.
Well that sounds like a wonderful opportunity for all members of
the Southern California community. Now I understand the Art Center
is playing an integral role in preparing for the Get Ready Rally
in Los Angeles. Can you talk about that rally a little bit?
The Get Ready rally has been conceived and designed by
Art Center College of Design. It is part of the Great
Southern California ShakeOut. And of this over-all project,
The L.A. Earthquake: Get Ready initiative which is a
communications effort again that's been aligned to ShakeOut.
It's a public event at the Nokia Plaza, Downtown Los Angeles
that will start at 4 o'clock on Friday, November 14th.
It is open to families and we hope it's a celebration and a
coming together for the community to come to the central
location in Los Angeles where there will be a lot of information
through different partners, and vendors, but also a lot of media
and messaging and some of our civic leaders and officials.
Really talking about what we need to do as a community
to be ready before the quake occurs.
Well that sounds great. We encourage all members of the
Southern California community to come out for the
Get Ready Rally on Friday, November 14th. And do not forget
to log on to www.aftershock.net in the days following the
rally so you do not miss out your opportunity to play After Shock.
Thank you Mariana.
Thank you