Students return from trip to California as part of Hawaiian immersion program

Seventh- through 11th grade Hawaiian immersion haumāna (students) from Maui, Oʻahu Hawaiʻi Island and Nā Pua Noʻeau have returned from a free five-day huakaʻi (trip) to California to help promote interactive STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) pathway options within higher education.

The hands-on learning experience took students to Disney’s Imagination Campus and iconic museums and attractions to dive into research related to ʻāina.

The Nā Pua Noʻeau program aims to increase the number of Native Hawaiian students attending and graduating from the University of Hawaiʻi.

More program information includes:

• The program’s mission is to develop future leaders with a passion for caring for Hawai‘i’s precious natural resources through robust and engaging learning experiences grounded in Hawaiian language and culture.
• This cohort of Nā ‘Ōpio Ka‘apeha launched in fall 2023 and required haumāna to meet once a month to go on huaka‘i to learn the background history of various wahi pana (storied place) on their island. The experience helped immerse students in ‘āina-based learning by incorporating the mo‘olelo (stories) of their home island while also bridging those experiences with hands-on learning at UH campuses. 
• Participants also attended Nā Pua Noʻeau’s two-week long Summer Institute in June 2024, engaging in a variety of hands-on activities such as brain anatomy, auto computer-aided design, haku mele (song composition), lei making and cooking. Graduate students from the UH Mānoa Native Hawaiian Science & Engineering Mentorship Program taught haumāna how to design and 3D print waʻa (canoes). 
• The Nā ‘Ōpio Ka‘apeha program is a collaboration between Nā Pua Noʻeau and the State of Hawai‘i Department of Education Office of Hawaiian Education.
• Since its inception in 1989, Nā Pua Noʻeau has offered programs for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, providing a wide range of first-class learning opportunities. These programs, which include visual and culinary arts, literacy, and STEM, aim to build a bridge between the community and higher education. Centers are stationed at UH Mānoa, UH Hilo, UH Maui College, Kauaʻi Community College and UH West Oʻahu.