HPA’s Virtual Visit in May
Each year, Hawai'i Preparatory Academy's (HPA) 4th graders visit 'Imiloa as part of their early Hawaiian life studies. Their onsite visit to 'Imiloa this past February included exploring 'Imiloa's garden of Hawaiian endemic, indigenous and Polynesian introduced plants, navigating the night sky in the Planetarium, and learning about Polynesian migration and the life cycle of hot spot volcanoes in the exhibit hall.
“Fun, meaningful understanding, and shared experiences! It's worth the drive, time, expense, and effort to visit the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center each year," according to HPA’s teacher, Cobey Doi. “This excursion is one of the favorites of my students, as well as one of the most valuable and comprehensive in terms of knowledge shared and gained," Doi added.
Wanting to keep students excited about science and culture during the stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, Doi reached out to 'Imiloa to inquire about a virtual classroom visit. 'Imiloa provided 90 minutes of live virtual programming, conducted in two parts in May. As part of the students' school research project, they needed to consider how early Hawaiians survived and thrived within a sustainable 'ahupua'a system. ‘Imiloa’s task was to spark excitement about the uka region, all the resources contained in the uplands of an 'ahupua'a land section. "Uncle" Punawai provided an in-depth exploration of the relationship between Waimea's topography, weather, location on windward and leeward sides, including its effects on the natural resources and lives of Waimea's community and its history. 'Imiloa's Virtual Experience Program with HPA is part of a trial which included the use of 3D model visualizations, short video clips, and students being challenged to search other websites to find answers to questions and then share out via the chatbox and Google Forms.
"Wow! Maika'i nui! That was fabulous and the juggling of technology was smooth. As I looked at the responses, students were pretty much spot on, so your concepts were understandable and relative," as expressed by Doi in her feedback to ‘Imiloa.