MSU is trying to create new ways to keep students informed about the Dec. 26 tsunami.
At the "Tsunami: Wave of Destruction" exhibit at the Main Library, social work junior Dekayla Carr said she learned new things about the tsunami that took place in Southeast Asia. Staring at the exhibit, Carr slowly began to move her lips - reciting everything she was reading about the tsunami.
Carr said she couldn't believe the number of things she didn't know about the natural disaster.
"It's very informative," Carr said. "They have more than books and it catches your attention when you walk in."
The exhibit focuses on the geology, history and the impact of the tsunami. The exhibit includes books on tsunamis and maps showing where the Dec. 26 tsunami hit.
In addition to the exhibit, library staff members have created a Web site that allows students to research more information about the natural disaster.
The exhibit can been seen at the Main Library, on the first floor of the west wing near the stairwell, and the site can be found at www.lib.msu.edu/libinstr/tsunami.htm.
The designers of the exhibit said if students such as Carr come to visit the exhibit and learn new things about the tsunami, the mission of the exhibit will have been accomplished.
"Through the exhibit, we want to convey information about the science behind tsunamis," science and technology librarian and coordinator of library events Anita Ezzo said. "We want to provide students with information about the country."
Ezzo said the exhibit took two-and-a-half weeks to complete and admitted it was a lot of work. But she said in the end, it was worth it.
Geology librarian Diane Baclawski, who designed the map and provided research, said the idea of the exhibit is to translate what's in a science book into something people can understand.
"It was fascinating to try to understand on how something can send a shock wave through the water," Baclawski said. "It was seven to nine minutes long - it's incredible to understand how the Earth works. But unfortunately there are times when we get to see how the Earth works, but it involves loss of human life."
