Designed by Subaru Telescope to bring astronomy and STEM education to students and communities across Hawaii Island, the brand new Subaru Stars program held its first event at Naalehu Elementary School earlier this summer in partnership with the Hawaii Science and Technology Museum.
More than 50 students, faculty and administrative staff enjoyed a morning of hands-on, engaging activities to ignite an interest (and perhaps a future career) in astronomy, science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related fields.
Subaru Stars plans to expand its traveling program to more rural areas this fall and will hold events in more populated areas throughout the year.
“Because of the size and geography of Hawaii Island, our rural communities often don’t have the same access to enrichment programs available in areas such as Hilo and Kailua-Kona,” Subaru Telescope senior outreach specialist Christian Wong said in a press release. “We’re developing this program in partnership with our local schools to see how we can best serve their needs. The pandemic has been extremely difficult on all of us, particularly our keiki and their teachers.
“Many of our Hawaii Island children are still making up for lost time in math, science, and language arts proficiencies. As members of this community, we created Subaru Stars to get kids excited about learning and to help as much as we can to strengthen their skills,” Wong added.
For the first Subaru Stars, Subaru Telescope’s staff volunteers packed two company vehicles with equipment: oversized chess and checker boards, a trash can “vortex cannon,” programmable robotics equipment, Subaru-designed spectrum light cards, and a touchless musical instrument called a theremin.
Students were grouped by age and rotated through stations during the two-hour event, giving them each a chance to immerse themselves in the various activities.
Keiki learned how to play chess and checkers, excellent games that are the building blocks of mathematics, problem solving and strategic thinking. VEX 123 Robots took coding off the screens and into small hands. These disc-shaped robots allowed students to work on coding with simple push-button commands. Robotics is essential for bringing STEM, computer science, and computational thinking to life through hands-on experiences.
A crowd favorite was the “vortex smoke cannon” made from a large trash can. Fogging machines filled the cans and students created smoke rings that shot across the room with incredible force thanks to physics and the “Bernoulli Principle.”
Astronomy education also is a part of the Subaru Stars program. Subaru public outreach specialist Dr. Kumiko Usuda-Sato developed a “spectrum card” to teach keiki how astronomers study outer space. With this card, students were able to see the “rainbows” in their everyday world.
“We are always looking for opportunities for our kids — just to have that exposure to help them realize that they have options and they can be whatever they want to be,” Naalehu Elementary School Principal Wilma Roddy said in the release. “This is the first time I’m seeing an event like this anywhere since COVID. For the kids to be able to see, touch and feel … it helps them connect to these concepts more. I feel like it really sparks their curiosity.”