Field Trip: Fremont Earthquake Exhibit Tour

Photo credit: MS Nucleus (http://www.msnucleus.org/)

When: Available Fall and Spring
Where:  Tour starts at the Fremont Community Center  (40204 Paseo Padre Parkway), followed by a walk in Central Park to see various examples of fault activity.
Who: Mixed ages, however it starts with a lecture of 15-20 mins followed by a mile walk which may be difficult for younger ones.
Cost: $200/trip  (as of 2019), maximum 32 people.

The Fremont Earthquake Exhibit tour is hosted by MS Nucleus, a non-profit organization offering various science classes and camps in Fremont. This tour brings the concepts of plate tectonics and faults to life for students, but in a non-scary way.

The tour started at the back of the Fremont Community Center, in Central Park. The tour host, Dr. Angelina, gave an overview of the structure of the earth (crust, mantle, core), types of faults, a description of the San Andreas network of faults, including the Hayward Fault. The large crack in the floor is a result of the building (the first site for Fremont City Hall) being built, unknowingly, on top of the Hayward Fault. The yellow lines on top of the fault show how both sides are creeping apart, 3-5mm/year.

After the lecture, we were given a brochure detailing the features we would see, and a worksheet for the children to fill in at various points of the tour. Some highlights:

 Curb offsets - the fault causes the concrete curb to buckle and move apart

Photo credit: MS Nucleus.

Asphalt cracks - though they look like simple city maintenance issues, they follow a straight line from the Fremont Community Center (where the Hayward Fault was manifested).

Photo credit: MS Nucleus

East Bay Hills - the Hayward fault goes under these hills, causing the land to be uplifted. Thus there are fossils of underwater specimens on the hills. 

 This field trip kept the students engaged and they had many questions about plate tectonics and fault zones, so we recommend it for elementary/middle school. If you are unable to book a trip, you can take the walk yourself as the City of Fremont has provided clear instructions and signs. However, we encourage you to book a tour as the MS Nucleus people are great at explaining and answering questions; furthermore, it supports the organization.

If you would like to experience a simulated earthquake as a follow-up, try the Shake House at the California Academy of Sciences, or the Shake Floor at the Tech Museum.

If you want to spend some more time in Fremont to get full use of your bridge toll :), consider visiting the Ardenwood Farm or the Children's Natural History Museum afterwards.