A classroom of fifth-grade students at Keaukaha Elementary School in Hilo “throw shakas” following a presentation on light and sound waves by PISCES Director Rodrigo Romo during Journey Through The Universe week in March.
PISCES staff were busy with classroom visits in East Hawaii during the 2018 Journey Through the Universe program organized by Gemini Observatory. Held from March 5 to 9 this year, the annual science outreach event engaged students from grades K-12 with more than 75 local scientists, outreach specialists and educators, as well as scientists from NASA to learn more about the world of space science and related STEM fields.
According to estimates, this year’s program included some 230 classroom visits in East Hawaii and impacted some 7,500 students. In North Hawaii, the program reached roughly 1,800 students throughout the week. Astronomers from Hawaii Island observatories visited classrooms island-wide, in addition to activities that included the StarLab portable planetarium, certification workshops and career awareness presentations.