Sichuan is mulling to build an earthquake museum on the affected area, both as a memorial and for education. Different parts of China are promoting lessons on survival skills to the public. Yunnan Province plans to have courses on survival skills in kindergartens and middle and high schools in some pilot cities.

While science has increasingly found its way into public conversation, many are questioning why experts failed to provide predictions before the disastrous quake.

"We are under great pressure," says Ren Luchuan, a researcher with China Earthquake Networks Center the under China Earthquake Administration. "In fact we feel a kind of guilt after the disaster and some even need psychological help."

It's an international difficulty for experts to predict earthquakes in a short term – namely within 10 days, Ren says.

Three factors contribute to the difficulty in earthquake prediction, Ren says. "We haven't built up a complete theory on earthquake prediction; the survey data on signs before an earthquake cannot be sufficiently collected; experiences on predicting an earthquake within a short term are very limited."

Many are debating signs before the 8.0-magnitude earthquake, like the migration of thousands of toads before the quake.

Ren says, "It's natural for toads to migrate after they grow up from tadpoles. No scientific evidence proves there is a direct link between toad migration and earthquakes."

Ren and his colleagues have received a lot faxes each day, many claiming they had found earthquake-related signs: from ground water level changes, to "irritable dolphins" and "crying tortoises." "We sort the information out for further study."

"Animals might have some capacities that human beings can not understand. For example, no elephants were found dead in the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004. However, the theory on earthquakes and animal reaction is not fully built and thus we need to select through the information," Ren says.