The University’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History is commemorating the 30th anniversary of Mount St. Helens’ eruption with events throughout May for students and community members.
The museum, which promotes an understanding of both natural and human history, aims to show that events like the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 are natural in origin, but impact how humans live, much like how the recent eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull disrupted air travel.
Mount St. Helens, which erupted on May 18, 1980, was the deadliest volcanic event in recorded U.S. history. The pyroclastic flow and resulting avalanche from the eruption killed 57 people and destroyed surrounding forests, homes and highways.
“We are constantly reminded of the power of nature,” Ann Craig said, the museum’s assistant director of education. “The Mount St. Helens programs are designed to engage our community in exploring an event that greatly impacted the lives and the environment of the Pacific Northwest.”
Geological sciences department head Katharine Cashman also agrees the Mount St. Helens eruption tremendously impacted history.
“The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was a transformative event for the Pacific Northwest,” Cashman said. “Everyone in the region who was alive in 1980 has a story about where they were when the eruption occurred … Such events provide the common threads that tie us together. Remembering these events thus celebrates our common history while also providing an opportunity to pass along our stories to younger generations … (and to) hopefully pass along the knowledge that our beautiful volcanoes can also be dangerous.”
What made the eruption fascinating was that it was the first closely monitored volcanic eruption in all stages.
“As such, it provided a lens through which we can view both the past volcanic history of Cascadia and current volcanic activity around the world,” Cashman said.
Cashman has studied Mount St. Helens since 1983 and learned from the volcano about the nature of magma and the processes of a volcanic eruption by studying the rocks produced from an eruption. She is presenting a museum lecture on Mount St. Helens on Tuesday, which aims to educate students and community members about the eruptions of Mount St. Helens over the years with folklore and science.
Judy Pruitt, the museum’s assistant director of visitor services, said the museum is commemorating the eruption as a way to educate the community with resources on campus.
Don Hunter, the founder of the University’s Audio and Visual Center, will also be participating. His collection of several hundred thousand slides detailing the eruption of Mount St. Helens will be on display May 18. The museum is also hosting an event this Wednesday for preschoolers with a story hour and then a contained explosion of a miniature volcano.
“I see this anniversary as a way to explore the importance of natural events in human history, as well as chance to reflect on scientific advances in volcano studies over the past 30 years,” Cashman said. “Reflection of where we’ve come from is something that we often forget in this modern world that more often looks toward the future.”
[email protected]
Commemorating Mount St. Helens
Daily Emerald
May 1, 2010
0
More to Discover