As we say goodbye to summer, it’s time to blast off into a new school year! Just like UH Mānoa scientists are busy designing and creating instruments that will make their way to the moon, we’ve spent the summer months preparing for this school year, and it’s shaping up to be a great one. And we know that our teacher community is starting the journey to take students to new STEM heights!
In this newsletter, we’ll put the past year into perspective with some 2024–2025 highlights, share lots of new resources, and share exciting events and opportunities to put on your calendar!
2024–2025 Highlights
We loved being a part of your school year! Our end-of-year report is coming soon, and in the meantime, here are some highlights!
2024 – 2025 by the numbers:
- 44 active schools supported across the state
- 895 individual toolkit items loaned to classrooms statewide, with over 20,500 student touchpoints
- 930 newsletter subscribers
We also spent time crafting a strategic plan to guide our work. You can get a sneak peek here.
In case you missed it, we even had a little media coverage and a UH News Story this summer!
What’s New for You?
STEM Pre-Academy is dedicated to expanding our collection of tools and resources to ensure that they are relevant and useful. We invite you to be part of our expansion – try new things, give us feedback, and let us know what you’d like to see!
Over the summer, we added over 25 new items to our Toolkit for Teachers Lending Library (and there are more coming)! We’ve also folded our C-MORE Science Kits into the Lending Library to streamline the borrowing process. Moving forward, we’ll be working to add “Starter Packs” to the library, like you see here for our Spheros, with resources for support, lesson ideas, and standards connections.
Some of our new items and kits include:
Relational GeoSolids
(math manipulatives)
Spectroscope Kit
(can be used with spectral tubes)
We’re also working on new ways to synthesize and share resources!
Check out our first ever UH Resource Collection: Waves and Wave Energy! This collection grew out of our collaboration with UH researchers for our Waves, Reefs, and Resilience Workshop last spring. It also includes some of our unique toolkit items, like our Coral Reef Wave Energy Activity Kit, our Wave Energy Buoys, and our Wave Tank.
Upcoming Events
Voice of the Sea: Ciguatera Poisoning Watch Party
Thursday, August 14, 2025 12:00 pm
YouTube Link
Can’t make the watch party? Check the episode page to watch the trailer now and the full episode on Vimeo or YouTube after the premiere! The newest episode of Voice of the Sea from our friends at the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program focuses on Ciguatera Poisoning, a seafood illness that comes from toxins produced by microscopic algae in warm, nearshore waters!
AAPT Fall Zoom Meeting
Saturday August 23, 2025 9:00 am
For joining instructions, please email dellman@iolani.org or mdj@phys.hawaii.edu
Join the American Association of Physics Teachers, Hawaiʻi section to connect with your colleagues, learn about opportunities and resources, and join special guest Paul Hewitt! Paul is the well-known author of Conceptual Physics and has taught at many universities, including UH Mānoa. Since 2003, the Hawaiʻi AAPT section has given an annual AAPT/Paul Hewitt award to the teacher of the student with the best Physics & Astronomy project in the Hawaiʻi State Science Fair, funded in part by donations from Paul. Learn more about Paul through an oral history interview, his physics teaching screencasts, and his new memoir “The Awesome Life of a Physics Teacher.”
Hawaiʻi Science Teaching Association and Hawai‘i Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2025 Fall Conference
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Learn more at https://hasta.wildapricot.org/. Hope to see you there!
Schools of the Future Conference
Thursday and Friday, October 16-17, 2025
Hawaiʻi Convention Center
Come visit our table!
Our Friend the Sun: Engineering Design of Solar Power
A Workshop Experience for Grade 4–12 Teachers
November 8, 2025 – 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
Windward Community College
‘Imiloa Room 137 and Hōkūlani Imaginarium
Join STEM Pre-Academy, Dr. Aaron Hanai from Kapi‘olani Community College, and the Center for Aerospace Education at Windward Community College for Our Friend the Sun: Engineering Design of Solar Power. Teachers will learn to design solar energy solutions, create a 3D model of their school, and learn how to use technology to foster STEM education through solving real world problems that matter to students! The half day workshop includes an overview and tour of the Center for Aerospace Education and a Hōkūlani Imaginarium show!
Computer Networking with PCATT
Saturday, January 17, 2026
(Save the Date!)
PCATT at Honolulu Community College
Coral Bleaching Workshop
Saturday, February 21, 2026
(Save the Date!)
Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology at Moku o Loe
UH Research Highlight
These resources can be used to support standards-based teaching and learning. They are not lesson plans and are not intended to meet the full scope of any given standard. Only some standards are highlighted; the resources developed by UH may be connected to many more standards! We encourage you to explore and to let us know if you have any questions!
Shark Research Lab – Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology
The Shark Lab, with PI Kim Holland, is part of the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, under the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The lab and its members investigate the behavior, physiology, and ecology of sharks and other fish. Researchers in the Shark Lab engage in a variety of projects using tracking technologies, including collaborating with the community to investigate shark movement behavior and habitat requirements. Are you interested in incorporating Hawai‘i sharks into your classroom teaching and learning? Here are some possible connections!
What external structures do sharks and rays have that help them survive (4-LS1-1)? Check out the identification guides for sharks and rays to look at the physical features of a number of different sharks and rays. Use this information to construct arguments about how sharks and rays use their physical features.
Where do tiger sharks go around Hawai‘i and how might that affect their survival (MS-LS1-4)? Look at current and past tiger shark movement patterns using the Shark Lab’s Tiger Shark Tracking Website. Incorporate this evidence into arguments for how animal behaviors help them to survive and reproduce.
How do tracking instruments compare to visual tracking (MS-PS4-3)? Learn about the different types of tracking devices that are used in shark tracking research. Consider how digital tracking compares to spotting sharks visually. Based on this information, make claims about how digital signals compare to analog signals for encoding and transmitting information.
Related lesson resources If standards are not noted, the lesson may not be fully aligned to NGSS and may need to be adapted.
Survival in the Open Ocean – SEA (Grades 3–5)
Food Resources and Fisheries Science – SEA (Grades 3–5)
Fish – Exploring Our Fluid Earth (Grades 6–12)
UH Research and Innovation News
Unprecedented acidification ahead for corals in Hawaiʻi waters
A UH Mānoa study warns that Hawaiian waters could face levels of ocean acidification not seen in thousands of years.
Stronger silicone bonds could produce stronger robots, medical devices
The research offers helpful guidance for building silicone devices using both molding and 3D printing.
Could kalo be Hawaiʻi’s new superfood for chickens?
A new CTAHR review suggests that locally grown kalo (taro) leaves offer a promising, cost-effective and nutritious alternative feed for Hawaiʻi’s poultry farmers.
Hawaiʻi brain health tracker launches to address Alzheimer’s risks
The new interactive tool provides real-time data to address Alzheimer’s and dementia in Hawaiʻi.