Washington, which attracted an audience of
more than 2,000 astronomers and students.
But not only astronomers work at the obser-
vatories, of course. There are engineers, tech-
nicians, librarians, accountants, educators
and more, many of whom were born here in
the islands. Many observatory staff have the
opportunity to hear ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian
language) and oli (chants) through their chil-
dren, who learn about important traditions
and mo‘olelo (stories) in school, but gaining a
more in-depth knowledge and understand-
ing requires a more concerted effort. That’s
why the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center recently
joined forces with the University of Hawai‘i
at Hilo’s (UHH) Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani
College of Hawaiian Language to provide a
weekly class on Hawaiian language and cul-
ture to staff from all observatories on Mau-
nakea. The observatories paid the tuition
for the 12 week course, and the participants
purchased their own textbooks, which they
kept after the classes finished.
The first class was a bit experimental, as it
was difficult to gauge how many people
would be able to attend the class every Fri-
day lunchtime, and how many would be
able to make time to watch the recordings
and practice the lessons on their own if they
were traveling or on a night shift. Never-
theless, participation was outstanding with
over 100 staff from Maunakea Observatories
October 2019
and the UH Institute for Astronomy (both in
Hilo and Mānoa on O‘ahu) registering, and
attendance and enthusiasm remaining just
as high throughout the semester.
In Hilo, the class met in the Lecture Hall at
the Gemini North Base Facility, which is op-
timized for sound quality and ease of class
participation. The class was streamed in re-
altime to sites in Waimea on the Big Island,
Mānoa, and even one participant in Iowa,
using videoconferencing technology that
the observatories have in place to enable
scientific collaboration. Although this under-
taking was technically challenging at first,
after a few learning experiences on the part
of the organizers, the class was transmitted
smoothly to all sites.
The organizers also recorded each class and
made them available to all participants, so
that they would not miss anything if they
could not attend. This was all made possible
by the outstanding skill of kumu (teacher)
Figure 2.
Maunakea observatory
staff preparing for the
Merrie Monarch parade
in April. The Merrie
Monarch is a week-long
festival that honors the
legacy of King David
Kalākaua, who inspired
the perpetuation of
Hawaiian traditions,
native language and
arts.
Credit: East Asian
Observatory
Kamalani Johnson (UHH), and his willing-
ness to embrace not only the challenges
of distance learning, but also an unusual
set of haumāna (students) from all over
the globe and all types of jobs, from scien-
tific research and education, to engineering,
computer support, and administration. With
participants from diverse backgrounds, all
levels of proficiency in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, and
GeminiFocus
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