By KYVELI DIENER Hawaii Tribune-Herald
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AstroDay 2025 is returning to this weekend for another fun-filled day of activities exploring the wonders of space and technology.

The 23rd annual science celebration hosted by Maunakea Observatories will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo. The event will offer hands-on activities, demonstrations of both science and robotics, and prizes like telescopes and skateboards that will be given away through two raffle drawings during the day.

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“You never know what fun surprises are in store each year,” said event organizer Carolyn Kaichi of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. “There is always something for everyone at AstroDay.”

Over 30 organizations will have tables at AstroDay 2025, including the International Lunar Observatory Association, the Ho‘ala Program and the Onizuka Space Science Program. Notable organizations like Canada France Hawaii Telescope, Gemini Observatory, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and Maui’s Las Cumbres Observatory will also have tables alongside numerous museums, school clubs and national nature science organizations.

As visitors explore the educational activities and demonstrations at each table, they’ll be able to collect stamps to earn a free AstroDay coin, which will be minted featuring the design of this year’s winner, Ros Haleyah Mari Asuncion Ganot, a Pahoa High and Intermediate School junior.

Kaichi said Ganot has won a prize in various categories of the Maunakea Coin Contest every year since she was in 8th grade, but as this year’s grand prize winner, her design will be featured on event coins and the annual T-shirts available for purchase at AstroDay.

Ganot’s design features a depiction of telescope-topped Maunakea flanked by the sister goddesses Pele and Poli‘ahu along with native plants, a bird and constellations. The Hawaiian proverb “The stars are the spies of heaven” appears at the bottom of the coin in both ‘Olelo Hawai‘i and English.

“They are all amazingly creative and beautiful, and all the contestants put a lot of time and energy into their artwork,” Kaichi said. “I am amazed at the talent of these young people.”

Robotics will also be featured during AstroDay, with demos and hands-on opportunities available for attendees.

Kaichi said “the robotics demos are always fun for the younger set.” That means they’ll likely be drawn to the Hawaii Science and Technology Museum’s booth in front of the Macy’s. The museum’s executive director, Christian Wong, said its booth will feature hands-on robot-building activities and a Robot Rumble with student-built robots battling each other from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“Fifteen teams will be competing in total, with the winner taking home a trophy, Nerf guns, and bragging rights,” Wong said of the rumble, which will pit the museum’s Mechaneers robotics team against multiple teams from E.B. De Silva Elementary, Hilo Intermediate, Waiakea Intermediate, Keonepoko Elementary, Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary.

With AstroDay 2025’s theme of “Expanding Your Universe,” Kaichi stressed that, “there are many types of jobs at every level of skills…whether you work as a scientist, engineer, technician, or support staff in the sciences. Our crews at the (Maunakea) summit keep our buildings maintained, the public safe, and the roads clear.

“Given the current state of our country, I believe it’s more important than ever to maintain, if not increase, our level of what is known as ‘critical thinking,’ and by inviting people to appreciate the natural world around us — including the universe — and supporting that educationally, that is what we hope to achieve.”

For more information on AstroDay 2025, visit https://www.maunakeaobservatories.org/events.

Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.