Subaru Telescope joined the Hawai`i Science and Technology Museum (HSTM) for the very first HSTM Career Day at Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary in May. Career Day is a workforce-development and career-focused event for high school students that brings hands-on activities, information, and opportunities to local communities.
HSTM’s Career Day is an evolution of Science Nights, an event that brings STEM activities to schools around Hawai`i Island and is primarily geared toward elementary school students. While Science Nights are certainly fun for the whole family, HSTM realized that high schoolers need something beyond what they offer. HSTM decided to fill that gap with Career Day, a workforce-development and career-focused event for high school students.
MKOs, like Subaru Telescope, have participated in Science Nights since the very first event in 2016. Over time, they have built lasting relationships with communities and the hard-working team at HSTM, including Christian Wong, the director of HSTM and one of the people bringing these events to life. In 2022, Subaru asked him to join their team part-time as a Senior Outreach Associate. "I said yes when Subaru asked me to join their team because I saw that their outreach is genuine and that they really want to get out there and see local kids be a part of the astronomy and STEM community," says Christian.
Christian works closely with Dr. Kumiko Usuda-Sato, a public outreach specialist and astronomer at Subaru Telescope, and together they’ve been able to maximize their outreach efforts. Shortly after Christian joined Subaru’s team, they began looking for ways to expand outreach, which led to the creation and launch of the Subaru Stars program that same year.
HSTM brings events like Science Nights to communities in remote areas and underserved areas that science outreach programs don’t typically reach. Similarly, Subaru Stars brings astronomy and STEM education to students and communities around Hawai`i Island. "We saw an opportunity to bring Subaru Stars programming into the HSTM fold, which expanded the reach of Subaru Stars and connected us with students at HSTM events," says Kumiko. Thanks to their combined efforts, Subaru Telescope has been able to build connections with Na`alehu Elementary School, Keaʻau Elementary School, and Keaʻau High School over the past three years.
Career Day is the newest evolution and expansion of HSTM outreach, and this time, they are focused on showing high school students what a future in STEM can look like. For the inaugural Career Day, HSTM was joined by Subaru Telescope, Gemini Observatory, UH Institute for Astronomy, the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), and the UH College of Engineering. During the event, students participated in hands-on activities and learned about the range of STEM and astronomy career paths available to them.
Figure 1: (left) Kumiko Usuda-Sato and Tyler Ogawa, Jr. Instrument Technician, who graduated from the University of Hawai`i at Hilo, participated in the first Ka`u Career Day. (right) Ogawa is presenting spectrum experiments to high school students. (Credit: NAOJ)
One of the incredible opportunities shared with students was the pre-engineering program at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo. Through this program, graduating high school students can take engineering courses at UH Hilo and then transfer those courses into the B.S. Engineering program at UH Manoa. This allows Hawai`i Island students to complete the first two years of engineering degree requirements closer to home, with lower tuition, smaller class sizes, and local internship options.
Being an engineer or astronomer is not the only path for students looking for a career in STEM. The trades are an incredibly important piece of the puzzle, and as Christian points out, "For 1 astronomer, there are 50 people supporting them to make it happen." Career Day also featured information and activities related to electronics, carpentry, basic physics, environmental science, geology, and local research.
Career Day provides opportunities, pathways, and support for our local students, but Christian and Kumiko also hope it can give students something more: representation. For many Big Island kids, working in STEM—such as being an astronomer or engineer—can feel far away to them, but it’s not true. "We are here, working and living on Big Island," Wong says, emphasizing the importance of students seeing people like themselves in these roles. Without representation, it can be hard for youngsters to imagine themselves in certain careers. Local team members understand the power of being role models and showing what’s possible. As Christian explains, "Astronomy is part of local heritage, but oftentimes it’s viewed as an 'other' thing. When we work with the astronomy community, our local kids get to see that astronomy is for them too."
Figure 2: As Director of HSTM, Wong (left) received a Certificate of Recognition from the County of Hawai`i for organizing a series of science outreach events at schools in remote areas. The certificate was presented during "Rocketry Day" on April 26, 2024, at Na`alehu Elementary School—located about two hours drive from Hilo. Also pictured is Na`alehu Elementary School Principal Wilma Roddy (right). (Credit: NAOJ)
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