Waves of innovation: An internship redesigning an interactive tsunami simulator exhibit

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Allison Yamakawa, a 2023 Hollings scholar, spent her summer redesigning an interactive tsunami simulator exhibit at the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo, Hawaiʻi with the NOAA Inouye Regional Center and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The exhibit allows users to create a custom earthquake and then make decisions from the perspective of one of three roles: a citizen, a tsunami scientist, or an emergency management specialist. By immersing visitors in these roles, the exhibit helps them understand the importance of tsunami preparedness at the government and individual level. 
Allison smiles, holding an open laptop with the screen displaying a step in the tsunami simulator. She is standing in an exhibit area with a map of the Pacific Ocean basin centered on Hawaiʻi on the floor. The exhibit walls display three monitors and a logo of a wave with the text "Tsunami Warning System Simulation."
Allison Yamakawa, a 2023 Hollings Scholar, holding a prototype of her tsunami simulator in the Pacific Tsunami Museum’s pre-existing exhibit space. (Image credit: Allison Yamakawa)
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Allison developed the exhibit using Godot game engine, which enabled her to craft captivating visuals and program interactive features to improve visitor engagement. Users can create a custom earthquake from a selection of 10 epicenters and 7 magnitudes. Once the earthquake is generated, they choose a role and are presented with a series of scenarios that require them to make decisions. They then receive valuable feedback on their choices, enhancing their knowledge of tsunami safety and disaster mitigation.

With her project, Allison is contributing to the museum’s goal of “saving lives through education.” In the future, she hopes to further improve the exhibit and install floor sensors that allow users to generate an earthquake by jumping.

A computer screen that presents the user with a scenario. It shows a map of the Pacific Ocean basin with tsunami warning levels, from no alert up to a warning, indicated around various continents' borders. The user is asked to look at the map and determine what type of alert, if any, to send out to emergency management officials in Hawaiʻi. The screen also shows how long ago the scenario's earthquake occurred, hours until tsunami impact, and earthquake magnitude.
A question users are faced with during the exhibit's tsunami scientist role. Here, users must analyze a tsunami alert map to determine the appropriate alert to send to emergency management officials. (Image credit: Allison Yamakawa)
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After earning her undergraduate degree in Earth science with a certificate in geospatial information science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Allison aspires to continue educating communities around the world about natural hazards and environmental protection.

During my time at the Pacific Tsunami Museum, I witnessed the power of education in protecting lives during a tsunami. Thanks to this incredible opportunity, I not only developed a wide range of new skills, but I also got to contribute to the education and well-being of coastal communities worldwide.

Allison Yamakawa, 2023 Hollings scholar
A headshot of Allison Yamakawa.

Allison Yamakawa, 2023 Hollings scholar

Allison is a class of 2023 Hollings scholar and student at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa majoring in Earth Sciences with a certificate in Geospatial Information Science.

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