|
|
Building on Ground Zero
|
|
|
|
Viewing Ideas
|
|
|
Before Watching
-
Make a list on the board of your school's safety features. Have
students create a data sheet for each floor (or wing) of your
building, including the number and location of exits, emergency
exits, handicapped-accessible exits, stairwells, windows,
telephones, and sprinklers. Have students consider where they
would exit if any of the emergency exits were blocked. Is one
part of the building more vulnerable than another? Ask students
to brainstorm solutions to any problems they find.
-
Organize students into five groups and assign each group one of
the following topics to track as group members watch the
program: reasons for the Alfred A. Murrah building's collapse,
reasons for the World Trade Center (WTC) towers' collapse,
recommendations for improving safety standards in U.S. building
codes, safety features in China's new World Financial Center,
and safety features in the new #7 WTC building.
After Watching
-
Draw a four-column chart on the board and label it with the
Murrah Building, WTC Towers, World Financial Center, and New WTC
Building. Discuss and list what caused the failure of the Murrah
and WTC buildings. What features in the new buildings could
possibly help prevent these types of disasters from happening
again?
-
The program explores the question of how safe is safe enough
regarding what protective features tall buildings should
include. Have students discuss the tradeoffs between safety and
cost, and discuss which buildings should have which protective
features.
|
|
