Subaru Telescope made it possible for nearly 100 third and fourth graders from Na`alehu Elementary School to visit its Hilo base facility recently as part of our ongoing Subaru Stars program, which brings astronomy and STEM education to students across Hawai`i Island. The field trip, done in partnership with `Imiloa Astronomy Center, allowed students to enjoy a fun-filled day exploring both facilities, where they learned about exoplanets, astronomy, super computers, telescope operations, and more.
Figure 1: Group photo of the Na`alehu Elementary School third and fourth graders in front of the Subaru Telescope Base Facility, taken on November 29, 2022. (Credit: NAOJ)
"Most of us were inspired by experiences in our childhood that led to our future occupations," says Subaru Telescope director Satoshi Miyazaki. "I hope the visiting students were excited about what they learned about Subaru Telescope."
Whether it was soaring through the solar system looking at stars through 3D glasses, learning about a "100-eye monster" PANOPTES citizen science project, checking out the Subaru Telescope simulator, or lassoing the moon, every second of the excursion was maximized with intriguing scientific discovery.
Figure 2: At the lobby of the Hilo Base Facility, Na`alehu Elementary School students get to go on a space "cruise," guided by Kumiko Usuda-Sato, a Public Outreach Specialist. This experience uses Mitaka, the Four-Dimensional Digital Universe viewer developed by NAOJ's 4D2U project. (Credit: NAOJ)
Nine-year-old Makamae Tayamen’s favorite part of the field trip was learning about PANOPTES (Panoptic Astronomical Networked Observatories for a Public Transiting Exoplanets Survey), a citizen science project based at the Subaru Telescope office that aims to build low-cost robotic telescopes that can be used to detect transiting exoplanets.
"We learned that the PANOPTES robot wakes up at night and looks at the stars and finds planets, then it sleeps in the day. When it finds planets and stars, [the astronomers] put all that information into a computer and learn about the planets."
Figure 3: At the Simulator Laboratory, Na`alehu Elementary School students learned about the Subaru Telescope Simulator guided by Mike Lemmen, Instrument/Electronics Technician. (Credit: NAOJ)
At `Imiloa Astronomy Center, senior planetarium technician and educator Emily Peavy discussed what is going on in our solar system and which planets could be seen with the naked eye in the skies above the Big Island that very evening. She also discussed past lava flows on the moon. Students learned about what makes the sun a star, the different types of planets in our solar system (rocky and gaseous) and the difference between a planet and a dwarf planet.
"My favorite part of `Imiloa was when I went to the planetarium because we sat down and pretended to lasso the moon," says Evelyn Cardwell, 9. "It really looked like the moon was coming closer!"
Says `Imiloa Astronomy Center school group education program facilitator Chrissy Ghiasi, "Having the opportunity to interact with scientists who live and work in Hilo and who can share about the science happening right here on our island can inspire students in a very unique way by making the information that much more relevant. Providing students with opportunities to interact with exhibits or having the experience of learning in the planetarium can ignite their curiosity and create connections about what they are learning that will become deeply ingrained as they continue on their journey as students."
Subaru Telescope looks forward to welcoming future field trips this year as part of the Subaru Stars program, bringing this type of educational experiences to students in our underserved communities. We already have several field trips planned for the first quarter.
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