Dr. Mikayel G. Melkumyan
President of the Armenian Association for Earthquake Engineering
Research Professor in the College of Engineering
at the American University of Armenia

mmelkumi@aua.am

March 20-22, 2010 at Yomiuri Kobe Hall, Kobe, Japanê »ÛëÙ³ Ï ³ ÛáõÝ	  ßÇÝ³ ñ³ ñáõÃÛ³ Ý	  Ñ³ ÛÏ ³ Ï ³ Ý	  ³ ëáóÇ³ óÇ³Armenian Association for Earthquake Engineering
Tel: (374 10) 51-26-43, 51-26-44
Fax: (374 10) 51-28-40
e-mail: mmelkumi@aua.am

AAEE

AAEE was established in 1998 and was registered bythe Ministry of Justice of Armenia in 1999
In the year 2000 AAEE became a member of theInternational Association for Earthquake Engineering(IAEE) and in 2002 a member of the European
Association for Earthquake Engineering (EAEE)The first large project of AAEE was the establishmentof a Museum and a permanently acting Exhibition on theachievements in the field of earthquake engineering
dedicated to the 1988 Spitak Earthquake

LOCATION OF THE MUSEUM AND EXHIBITION

This unique seismicallyisolated building itself
exhibits the newest
achievement in the field ofearthquake engineeringin Armenia
Museum was established in November 22, 2002
in a basement of a 4-story base isolated apartmentbuilding, constructed in Spitak in 1996-1998 in the central
part of the city immediately next to the Memorial devoted
to the 1988 Spitak Earthquake victims

The Municipality of Spitak (late Mayor - Suren Avetissyan) was actively working within
the framework of the AAEE Project by allocating the above mentioned premises for theMuseum, by raising the public awareness, and by informing the population of theregion about the course of the Project implementation

Mr. Suren Avetissyan was serving
as the Mayor of Spitak
at the time of creation of theMuseumTHE AIM OF THE PROJECTAND ITS JUSTIFICATION
The destructive consequences of the 1988 Spitak
Earthquake are well known – more than 25,000 people
killed and more than 500,000 people remained homelessrememberThus, it is necessary first to always
what had happened and who had extended
to Armenia for reconstruction of the
Earthquake Zone, andhelp

draw lessons, as well as toeducate the population for acquisition and further
second toimprovement of its seismic literacy

v The happened tragedy showed that underestimation of this inescapable
natural phenomenon leads to consequences, which turn back thedevelopment of the country for decades. This takes place, when the world
experience in assessment of seismic hazard and risk and protection
against it is ignoredv Every member of the society should know what kind of hazard is instore for him and how he can help himself and others in case of anearthquake. By creating his dwelling or his working place without thenecessary base of knowledge, a person exposes himself and others, as wellas his progeny, to a mortal danger conditioned by forthcoming
earthquakesv One should not live for the day only and think, that the earthquake
would hit somewhere far away from him. Because of lack of education in
the areas of earthquake engineering and disaster management people
continue to build their habitation in absolutely inadequate ways towards
the real seismic hazard

The Museum and Exhibition became a source ofknowledge, education and information for people
from various strata of society and of different ages

Museum and permanently acting Exhibition wasestablished under the auspices of the:GOVERNMENT OFNORWAY“GRANT THORNTON AMYOT” CHARTEREDACCOUNTANTS, MANAGEMENT,TAX & LEGAL CONSULTANTS“KANAKA” OJSC“CARITAS WOOD WORKINGCENTER” SWISS- ARMENIAN
JOINT ENTERPRISE“ARMPROJECT” CJSCWORLD BANK YEREVANOFFICE“BUSINESS CONSULT” CJSCARMENIAN ASSOCIATIONFOR EARTHQUAKEENGINEERING“YEREVAN FACTORY FORRUBBER TECHNICALARTICLES” OJSCMIKAYEL ANDNAIRA
MELKUMYAN
FAMILY

DR. AGBABIAN
FAMILYFROM USAAMERICAN
UNIVERSITY OF
ARMENIAARMENIA FUND
U.S.A., INC.

“NAHAPET & Co.” Ltd. Co“TIGRAN & ARTSRUN” Ltd. Co“M. LAMBARYAN” Ltd. Co“YEGHVARD YEREVAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY” Ltd. CoFOR CREATION OF THE MUSEUM AAEE HAD UNDERTAKEN

THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES:Ø selection and allocation of premises

for the MuseumØ development ofdrawings forrepair andconstruction
works in theallocated premiseØ implementation of repair andconstruction worksØ negotiations withInternationalInstitutions,Embassies ofdifferent countries,
and with local
companies andinstitutions forproviding financial
and other supportØ purchasing andobtaining of equipment
Ø purchasing andobtaining of furnitureØ obtaining andpreparation of exhibitsØ creation of libraryof video-films on earthquakesØ creation of libraryof technical and educational
literatureØ preparationof posters, etc.

POSTERS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIESAND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Museum was officially opened on
November 22, 2002. The posters on
the history of establishment of theMuseum and on the activities of thenine countries, namely:

Austria
BelarusGermany
Italy
NorwayPolandRussiaTurkmenistan
Ukraineas well as three Internationalorganizations - World Bank,

American Red Cross, Red
Cross and Red CrescentFederation are located here

Some educational posters of theArmenian and American Red Crossand of AAEE are also located here

Several educationalfilms telling about
earthquakes indifferent countries
and theirconsequences andabout rescue works
were collected
Armenian experts
are conducting
lectures for different
groups ofpopulation, giving
them explanations
on all the issues they
are interested inCOLLABORATION ON LOCAL AND
INTERNATIONAL LEVELSq A special attention in the Museum was paid to the improvement of seismic

literacy of children, pupils of schools and students of universitiesq A close collaboration with the construction companies and universities wasmaintainedq Also it is supposed that the experts, invited from abroad, will periodically
lecture and hold classes hereq The Museum may have a regional importance, as it is proposed to closelycollaborate with the relevant authorities of neighbouring countries and toorganize visits, lectures, and seminars for themq There is no similar Museum in any of the three South-Caucasus countries andthis also proves its originality

OFFICIAL REGISTRATION OF THE MUSEUM AND
FURTHER NEEDED ACTIVITIES
After its establishment the Museum was given by AAEE as a gift to the Municipality ofSpitak and was officially registered in May 2003 as “1988 Earthquake Museum” LLC. In
order to ensure the further development and successful operation of the Museum thefollowing tasks should be solved:● recruitment of the personnel● training of the personnel● further obtaining of equipment● further preparation of exhibits● creation or purchase of computerized educational programs on earthquake engineeringand disaster management● enlarging of the library of video films on earthquakes, systems for seismic protection anddisaster management● enlarging of the library of books, journals and other educational materials onearthquakes, systems for seismic protection and disaster management● public awareness campaign - informing the population about the establishment of theMuseum and its activities through mass media

● development and publishing ofa booklet about the Museum● organization of regular visits to
the Museum for different groupsof population● organization of regular seminars
and trainings

Continuous sponsorship andhelp to ensure sustainability of
the Museum and permanently
acting Exhibition is needed³ The Museum and Exhibition will allow acquainting people with the works,
which are being carried out to protect the population against earthquakes. Owing
to the well prepared exhibits, video-films and the computer animations, people
will realize that the seismic protection of their dwellings and working places is amatter of extraordinary paramount importance in Armenia. People will obtain
simple, but efficient advices on how to strengthen their inhabitation and how tobuild new houses correctly, as well as how to maximally secure their working
places³The visitors will be acquainted with the instructions, which must be used

before, during and after an earthquake. Moreover, they will acquire the rules ofthe rescue works and medical assistance in case of an earthquake. The main thingis that people will be prepared enough in order not to be taken unawares by thecatastrophe, as it happened on December 7, 1988, to avoid panic and chaos³If the result on increasing of seismic literacy by population is achieved, then it

will allow to change the nowadays situation, when, in spite of high seismic hazard,
people are living only for the day, thinking that they will avoid the earthquake

The Museum and Exhibition activities are usually being evaluatedby the following criteria:® quantity of the visitors® quantity of the seminars, practical studies and courses, conducted by thepersonnel® quantity of the people, received certificates on passing the courses
and practical studies® permanent renewal of the exposition, reflecting the recent achievements® records of the feedback by visitors about the effectiveness of the exposition® records of the feedback by local and central authorities, various enterprises
and institutions, international organizations, non-governmental organizations,and others