Earlier, our group was greeted by chickens roaming the parking lot as we reunited with one of our mentors, Meagan. Entering the air conditioned pākī, we were given paperwork to complete and our pictures were taken for our new internship IDs. The cultural orientation was an eye opening discussion of the importance of communication and served as a reminder that science, along with so many other fields of study, should not be selfish. After discussing important Hawaiian values and even practicing our 'Ōlelo through oli, we put what we learned to practice by working with our peers to braid cordage together. Following learning how to make two different types of cordage, we made our way to lunch at the Highway Inn Cafe.

After lunch, our group was able to explore the Museum and complete a scavenger hunt, so we headed over to the Science Adventure Center first. For many of us it was our first time visiting the museum and it was interesting to be inside the building with the Mālamalama mural we had passed so many times on the freeway. We were first greeted by the indoor volcano and exhibits describing the various science fields and were able to enter the volcano. There were a variety of deep sea exhibits as well as a walkthrough timeline of the legends of Hawai'i. We then made our way to see kāhili, feather standards used by Hawaiian royalty, and onwards to the main Hawai'i Hall. In the tall three floor hall, we were able to learn about different Hawaiian customs and explore various cultural artifacts. We were able to read about what the lives of native Hawaiian people were like as well as other Austronesian cultures such as the Atayal people, which one of our REU group members hails from!

Part of our group was able to visit the planetarium and walk around the dioramas displaying various satellites before a planetarium show began. Our group was able to watch the film “Hidden Pacific,” which transported us to Midway Atoll and other locations in the Pacific to explain various conservation efforts and allow us to experience these relatively untouched natural areas through the screen. The show concluded with a view of the sky transitioning to night time and the various planets, stars, and constellations that we could see in the summer night sky. We learned how the voyagers traveling through the islands used stars depending on the season to help them navigate through the ocean and how a single line of stars could be used to find their bearing. Our guide described both the Greek and Hawaiian stories and descriptions of the constellations which was an interesting look into voyaging and lore.