Japan Foundation for Promotion of Astronomy Awards Grant to ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center
Hilo, Hawai‘i – Hawaiʻi Island schoolchildren will enjoy greater access to educational experiences at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in 2016, thanks to the generosity of the Japan Foundation for Promotion of Astronomy (JFPA) through Subaru Telescope. Earlier this month, the foundation awarded a grant of ¥800,000 ($7,200) to ‘Imiloa for its school field trip program, with the funds designated to help support roundtrip transportation costs for schools outside Hilo.
During the 2014-2015 school year, ‘Imiloa hosted a total of 11,290 students and teachers/chaperones on 266 different curriculum-related field trips…the equivalent of more than one on-site field trip each weekday ‘Imiloa was open. The majority of the visiting groups—53%—were elementary school students, with 16% from intermediate school and 21% from high school. Slightly over half of all student visitors came from schools here on Hawaiʻi Island, with the remainder traveling to Hilo from Oʻahu, the neighbor islands, the U.S. mainland, and overseas.
‘Imiloa Executive Director Kaʻiu Kimura comments, “We feel a very special responsibility to ensure broad access to our programming for local students and schools here on Hawaiʻi Island. This generous grant from the Japan Foundation for Promotion of Astronomy will be of tremendous assistance in meeting our goal of continuing to subsidize roundtrip bus transportation for all eligible Hawaiʻi Island classes. We are very grateful to the JFPA and Subaru Telescope for this vote of confidence in our programming.”
‘Imiloa’s signature field trips are customized in consultation with the organizing teacher to meet the needs of the grade level and include content that directly supported the curriculum unit which the students were studying. Each class is offered a choice of shows in ‘Imiloa’s fulldome 3-D digital planetarium, along with hands-on experiences in its interactive exhibit hall and native gardens. At the end of the two-hour field trip, students receive curriculum worksheets to take back and complete in class.
Typical of many comments is one from a Hilo-area teacher who organized a field trip for her class in 2015: “Many of our students receive free/reduced lunch, and finances are a struggle. So, for them to go to 'Imiloa is such a luxury!” Another added, ““It is very difficult nowadays to get field trips approved and they must be highly linked to academic standards, so we are thankful that we can add ‘Imiloa to our list.”
To support field trips for local students, call ‘Imiloa at (808) 932-8921 or make a gift online.
Find out more about how to arrange a field trip, to ‘Imiloa.
‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i is located at 600 ‘Imiloa Place in Hilo, off Komohana and Nowelo Streets at the UH Hilo Science and Technology Park. For more information, go to www.imiloahawaii.org, or call (808) 969-9703.
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The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
