The Learning Experience for Earthquake Awareness Program (LEAP): An Experiential Approach to Seismic Design for Young Students

In many developing countries, seismic vulnerability remains high due to the widespread presence of informally constructed buildings without professional design or technical supervision. In Colombia, where nearly 60% of structures are non-engineered, this issue is especially acute. The objective of this study is to design, implement, and quantitatively evaluate the Learning Experience for Earthquake Awareness Program (LEAP), an experiential educational strategy for young students that enhances seismic knowledge, promotes sustainable construction awareness, and contributes to disaster risk reduction as a component of social sustainability. To address this challenge, LEAP introduces students to basic principles of structural mechanics and seismic behavior through playful, hands-on activities combining theoretical instruction, practical experimentation, collaborative design, and the testing of model structures. An experimental design with pre- and post-surveys was implemented with 141 participants, including 80 secondary school students (grades 8th–11th) and 61 university students enrolled in engineering, architecture, and construction programs, using 3D-printed models, earthquake simulators, and interactive games. Statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p<0.05) revealed significant improvements in conceptual understanding and perception, including gains in distinguishing between the hypocenter and epicenter (+45.39%, p=5.10×10−8, r=0.50), understanding seismic magnitude (+39.01%, p=1.67×10−12, r=0.71), and visually identifying structural vulnerabilities (+25.50%, p=4.50×10−2, r=0.41). Overall, LEAP contributes to disaster risk reduction and social sustainability by strengthening seismic awareness and responsible construction practices. The most significant results were observed among secondary school students, while university participants mainly reinforced applied and visual comprehension. Given its convenience sample, lack of control group, and immediate post-test, findings should be interpreted as exploratory and associative.