👷🏽‍♀️ Welcome Back! Building Together!

🆒  PocketLab’s Science Is Cool Unconference In Hawai‘i!

A big mahalo to our fine, science-minded friends at PocketLab.  On July 22 and 23, PocketLab held the 16th edition of their Science Is Cool Unconference here in Hawai‘i!  Presenting from the NOAA Inouye Regional Center on O‘ahu’s Ford Island and the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center on Hawai‘i Island’s Hilo side, the unconference featured a veritable who’s who of STEM researchers and professionals in Hawai‘i.

Pictured above is friend of STEM Pre-Academy and UH researcher Dr. Jeffery Drazen from the SOEST Department of Oceanography’s Deep Sea Fish Ecology Lab.  (Check out Dr. Drazen’s Deep Sea Ecology Activity in the Toolkit!)

To access the amazing resources from this event:

• First register for the conference
• Once you’ve registered, you’ll get a message to join the Notebook app.  Go through the sign up process to join the notebook and you should have access to the Science Is Cool Sessions and lessons.

Feel free to reach out to stemhelp@hawaii.edu if you have any questions!

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📍Opportunities for Teachers and Students!

🧪 Science Fair Support Workshop

Are you a new science fair supporter looking for ways to get started?  Are you a science fair veteran looking for new ideas?  Would you like an opportunity to learn from your colleagues and other experts?  Join us for the Science Fair Support Workshop!

In this half-day session, you’ll experience:

• A presentation of keys to success and pitfalls to avoid from experienced science fair judges, teachers, mentors, and coordinators;
• Unique insights about the role of the University of Hawai‘i in supporting science fair projects;
• An overview of the resources available to you through STEM Pre-Academy, including free tools and kits available to borrow; and
• Opportunities to ask questions of presenters and brainstorm with other participants.

This workshop is:

• In-person on O‘ahu;
• Open to teachers and Science Fair organizers and supporters, including non-classroom teachers and informal educators;
• Limited in capacity, so please sign up ASAP, no later than August 24, 2026.

Sign up for the Science Fair Support Workshop today!

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🛜 NEW DATE! 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.

In this half-day session, you’ll learn with our team of educators and professionals:

• 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.
• Explore the opportunities that PCATT offers to support career development in computer networking, including partnerships with local high schools.
• 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 September 9, 2025.

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Lyon Arboretum Field Trips and Educational Resources

Looking for a standards-aligned field trip?  Lyon Arboretum offers school tours Lyon Arboretum offers hands-on outdoor field trips for children in grades K and up, which adhere to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Hawaii Core Standards for Social Studies Standards (HCSSS). They also have educational resources available for gardening, botany, conservation, and more!

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Windward Community College Hokulani Imaginarium

Did you know that the University of Hawai‘i has TWO planetariums, one in Kāneʻohe?  The Center for Aerospace Education at Windward Community College offers school field trips to the Hokulani Imaginarium planetarium and the Aerospace Exploration Lab. School visits to the Imaginarium include the choice of one of the shows from the show library plus a live sky segment.

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‘Imiloa Astronomy Center

Did you know that the other UH planetarium is at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, in Hilo?  ʻImiloa offers a selection of unique experiences for students in preschool through 12th grade that are rooted in observation, innovation and interconnectedness. Each experience is approximately 2 hours and includes opportunities to explore, learn, and engage with ʻImiloa’s exhibits and learning spaces.

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🔍 UH Research Highlight

Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes – Natural Hazards

Cooperative program of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

The Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes (CSAV), operated out of UH Hilo, is a training and outreach program that provides information on volcanic and natural hazards that occur in Hawaiʻi and worldwide. Their Natural Hazards Big Island resource provides information on volcanoes, vog, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, brush fires, and civil defense. Their staff, including director Don Thomas, do research, monitor Hawai‘i volcanoes, and conduct public outreach. You can even contact them for school visits!  Are you interested in incorporating natural hazards into your classroom teaching and learning?  Here are some possible connections!

Are volcanic eruptions fast or slow (2-ESS1-1)?  Watch videos on CSAV’s YouTube or Vimeo channels to observe volcanic eruptions in Hawai‘i. Use these videos as evidence of Earth events that happen on a faster timescale.

Do volcanoes interact with the atmosphere and ocean (5-ESS2-1)?  CSAV is part of the Hawaii Interagency Vog Information Dashboard. Learn more about vog, use various vog and wind models, and look at space-based vog data, to create a simple model, such as a diagram or drawing, to illustrate how the geosphere can interact with the atmosphere.  There is also an interesting story and pictures of lightning in the volcanic plume that is another example of a geosphere-atmosphere interaction.

How do people prepare for and respond to volcanic hazards in Hawai‘i (4-ESS3-2; MS-ESS3-2; HS-ESS3-1)?  Learn more about notable hazardous events, including the participation of researchers in the response to these events.  Explore multimedia resources, such as the volcano image gallery and videos, to observe impacts of volcanoes and other natural hazards.  Visit CSAV partner Hawaiian Volcano Observatory to learn about volcano observations and predictions, and Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency to learn more about emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, and volcano hazards. Use all of this information and evidence to consider the impact of volcanic hazards and how people in Hawai‘i respond.

Related lesson resources If standards are not noted, the lesson may not be fully aligned to NGSS and may need to be adapted. 

Exploring Plate Tectonics – SEA (Grade 4)

Exploring hot spot volcanism and a mysterious lake at the summit of Kīlauea using models, USGS data, and Hawaiian moʻolelo (Grades 4–5)

Kīlauea Volcano: Be a Volcanologist (Grades 6–8)

Hulihia Kīlauea Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 (Grades 3–5)

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🔥 UH Research and Innovation News

How AI and field tech are clearing through the fog on Mount Kaʻala(opens in new tab)

New tools may help analyze unseen moisture to replenish precious natural reserves.

Aeʻo (Hawaiian stilt) reclassified from endangered to threatened(opens in new tab)

A new study documents more than 50 years of recovery, pointing to predator control and Indigenous-led wetland restoration as keys to the comeback.

Hawaiʻi’s mantle plume is getting hotter over time(opens in new tab)

New research shows the Hawaiian mantle plume has gotten hotter by about 250°C (480°F) over the past 47 million years.

Can Hawaiʻi grow rice again? Yes, and faster than in Japan(opens in new tab)

While the crops in Japan required 134 days to mature, Hawaiʻi’s crops were harvested in 97 days.

UH-led cosmic ray network receives nearly $1M NSF award for space weather research(opens in new tab)

A University of Hawaiʻi-led research network that helps scientists monitor space weather and cosmic rays has received a nearly $1 million award from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

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