Yes, it’s that time of year. Perhaps you are finding yourself dealing with stressors, not unlike the Franklin bumble bee. UH Mānoa researcher Dr. Jonathan Berenguer Uhuad Koch has studied these extinct bees, as well as other bees in Hawai‘i and across North America.
Unlike the Franklin bumble bee, we hope that you will find time over the next few weeks to relax, recharge, and reconnect with family and friends. When you buzz back into the new semester, we’d love to have a chance to connect with you too!
What’s New?
Hey Everyone, It’s Brylin. Hey Brylin!!
A big STEM Pre-Academy welcome to Brylin Nelson, who joins us this week as an Education Specialist. Brylin holds a Master of Science in Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. A main focus of her research has been in Controlled Environment Agriculture & Mycology. Brylin’s background, enthusiasm, and passion for STEM are her superpowers, and we could not be more excited to have her on the team! Welcome!
How You Doin’?
We’ve released our 2024-2025 End-of-Year Report! This report is a major milestone for the program, both in how we present a year in the life of STEM Pre-Academy, but also in how we collect and interpret the data that we’re reporting out. Please have a look!
Oh, the Things You Can Borrow!
Did you know that our Lending Library is even available to UH faculty, staff, and students for outreach projects and other events? Just last week, our friends from IEEE Student Branch borrowed Arduinos. And SWE borrowed Makey Makeys! Perhaps you saw a wave tank and a solar tracker at Discover Mānoa!
It’s the Backyard Buoys Activity Book!
The Backyard Buoys project is excited to announce a new educational resource, the Backyard Buoys Activity Book! Beautifully illustrated by American Samoa artist Puataunofo Tofaeono, the activity book brings together lessons from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and the Tropical Pacific to highlight how the buoys support coastal communities, and help us caretake our Pacific Ocean backyard.
The Backyard Buoys project is a partnership of regional ocean observing systems: the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), Alaska Ocean Observing Systems (AOOS), the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS), Indigenous communities, and a sensor company (Sofar Ocean). Together, we are co-designing wave buoy programs that are community-led and community-stewarded, working together to provide wave data to those who need it the most.
https://backyardbuoys.org/resource_category/education/
Upcoming Events
You’ve Got the Byte Stuff! Networking Basics and Career Pathways in Hawai‘i
Have you ever wondered about the difference between a bit and a byte? Are you curious about how your tech savvy students could pursue advanced technology careers in Hawai‘i?
We would like to invite you to our You’ve Got the Byte Stuff! Networking Basics and Career Pathways in Hawai‘i with the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training (PCATT), Honolulu Community College, and STEM Pre-Academy.
You’ve Got the Byte Stuff!
Networking Basics and Career Pathways in Hawai‘i
Saturday, January 17, 2025
8:30 am to 12:30 pm
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96817
In this half-day session, you’ll learn with our team of educators and professionals:
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Learn the basics of computer networking and do unplugged networking activities developed by the Department of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
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Explore the opportunities that PCATT offers to support career development in computer networking, including partnerships with local high schools.
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Take a tour of the new computer science facilities at Honolulu Community College.
This opportunity is open to teachers of Grades 4–8, including non-classroom teachers and informal educators.
The topics and skills covered in this workshop can connect to a wide range of Next Generation Science Standards (Engineering), Computer Science Standards (Computing Systems; Networks and the Internet), and CTE Pathways (Information Technology and Digital Transformation).
Sign up for the You’ve Got the Byte Stuff! today! We have limited capacity, so please sign up ASAP, no later than January 9, 2025.
Save the Date! Coral Bleaching Workshop on Coconut Island!
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology at Moku o Loe!
OPIHI Opportunity!
We are thrilled to share that applications are open for a professional learning opportunity called Our Project In Hawai‘i’s Intertidal (OPIHI).
APPLY HERE: https://tinyurl.com/OPIHI-Teacher26
What?
OPIHI trains teachers to teach their students to survey Hawai‘i’s rocky intertidal. You will implement the OPIHI curriculum and survey ‘Ewa Beach, Lēʻahi (Diamond Head), or Mauliola (Sand Island) with your students. Students do not get wet above their knees; no lifeguard is necessary.
Who?
Secondary (grades 6-12) teachers on O‘ahu
When?
- In-person workshops (9-5 pm): Jan 24, Jan 25, Feb 8
- Online workshops (5-6:30 pm): Jan 14, Feb 4, Feb 18, April 29
Benefits!
Join a program 100s of teachers and 1000s of students have participated in facilitated by experienced UH facilitators. Student-collected data has resulted in scientific publications!
- Curriculum supplies
- Bus transportation to field site & substitute
- $400 stipend
Interested?!
For more information see our flyer and the top of the application. You can also join our virtual Q&A at 5 pm on Wednesday, Dec 17 (zoom link).
Applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis starting Dec 22.
We are recruiting a cohort of just 10 teachers and anticipate this workshop filling up quickly—apply ASAP!
Your OPIHI facilitators:
Joanna Philippoff, Anuschka Faucci, Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, & Annie Rosa
Mahalo to our funder National Geographic for making this opportunity possible.
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!
The UH Honeybee Project
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience
The UH Honeybee Project researches honeybee health and survival in Hawai‘i. Lead researcher Ethel Villalobos and her team provide a number of resources for outreach and education related to their projects and to bees in general. Are you interested in incorporating honeybees into your classroom teaching and learning? Here are some possible connections!
Do plants depend on animals to survive (2-LS2-2)? Read about pollinators in Hawai‘i, food plants that are pollinated by honeybees, and how gardens can help pollinators. Use this information to develop a model of how animals pollinate plants.
What do the lives of bees look like (3-LS1-1)? Watch this video about the life cycle of bees. Compare the life cycle of bees to other organisms, including the butterflies mentioned in the video, and develop a model to describe the life cycles of organisms.
What external structures do different pollinators have that help them survive (4-LS1-1)? Learn more about different pollinators in Hawai‘i, especially looking at their physical features. You can learn more about bees specifically in this video. Use this information to construct arguments about how pollinators use their physical features to survive.
How do pollinators’ behaviors provide an ecosystem service (MS-LS1-4) and how can we ensure these ecosystem services are maintained (MS-LS2-5)? Read about pollinators in Hawai‘i, food plants that are pollinated by honeybees, and how gardens can help pollinators. Watch this video about the life cycle of bees, this video about deformed wing virus, and this video about the small hive beetle. Use this information to construct an argument about how the behaviors of pollinators support the survival of plants and consider design solutions that could maintain pollinator’s ecosystem services, while they are facing different threats.
Related lesson resources If standards are not noted, the lesson may not be fully aligned to NGSS and may need to be adapted.
Pollination Station – GRC (2-LS2-2)
Pulelehua Pollinators – GRC (MS-LS-1-4)
Hand Pollinator Activity – STEM Pre-Academy (2-LS2-2)
Pollinator Orchid Models – STEM Pre-Academy
UH Research and Innovation News
Bio-inspired breakthroughs: Engineering solutions from nature
A UH engineer is turning the fluid movements of fish and jellyfish into innovative soft robots for healthcare, sustainability and industrial solutions. Read more!
Climate resilience found in traditional Hawaiian fishponds
The research revealed Indigenous aquaculture systems effectively shield fish populations from the negative impacts of climate change. Read more!
Solar rain mystery cracked by UH researchers
Grad student Luke Benavitz and IfA astronomer Jeffrey Reep published new research about rain forming on the Sun. Read more!
Gut bacteria linked to how our genes switch on and off
The researchers point to future possibilities where understanding this loop could help doctors design personalized treatments. Read more!