Monday

The field trip today was interesting and a little disappointing. The different structures and methods they use at the Englekirk center to simulate earthquakes were interesting. The energy they generate to simulate the earthquakes was impressive. I also found the blast simulator interesting because they create blasts without explosives by using aluminum plates that slam into a structural element, such as a column. It was disappointing that we did not actually get to see the 3-story parking structure tested on the shake table. It was cool that we get to keep the green hardhats, which reminded me of turtles.