Hide under a sturdy table. Pack blankets, canned foods and enough water for each person to have access to a gallon a day. They learned their lessons well. The project that Gregory Gentile, Andrew Bindelglass and Michael Caruso recently completed won them a trophy in the JP Morgan Chase "Multimedia in the Classroom" awards in March.

All 120 Keller sixth-graders worked on special projects, but the boys' work was impressive because they created an interactive, computer-based earthquake mapping and modeling system that uses a state-of-the-art "Smart" board to encourage classroom participation.

Without a Smart board, which connects to a computer and is fully interactive, much like a sophisticated computer program, such projects would not be feasible.

The Smart board takes the place of a traditional blackboard and has multimedia functions. It is a tool for sharing Internet information, for example, with a classroom.

"I probably wouldn't want to be in an earthquake," said Bindelglass, considering how dangerous it could be.

"I would," said Caruso, eager to experience the things he had learned about in his award-winning project.

The contest was for students from the tri-state area. The three boys, all 12 years old, were the only team from Connecticut to win the award, said their proud teacher Linda Maggi.

The Smart board they used,

valued at $4,000, was a gift to the school from the Easton Learning Foundation. There are a total of six of the Smart boards at Keller.

"Absolutely, it was worth it," said Lisa Knopf, a member of the Easton Learning Foundation.

Knopf visited the school Monday to see the boys demonstrate their earthquake project.

"The students enjoy working with the Smart board so much. Some of them would rather come work on their project during lunch time than eat with their friends," said Carol Weinshel, director of learning technology for the school.

The boys take a practical approach to earthquakes. Don't build a house on a fault line, they said. But if you do build anywhere near an earthquake zone, don't build a house made out of stone.

"You want to build a light house with a flexible roof," Gentile said.