118 keiki, one submarine and a summer of ocean discovery

From the deck of an onboard floating classroom to the seat of a submarine, Maui’s youngest ocean explorers spent their summer getting closer to the sea than a classroom ever could. Three programs, three age groups, one shared goal: to help Maui’s keiki fall in love with the ocean. 

Ocean Camp 

Over six weeks of Ocean Camp, Pacific Whale Foundation’s youngest campers boarded field trips, and learned directly from PWF’s Education Team and community partners, building the kind of hands-on marine science understanding that sticks. 

One trip stood out above the rest. A group of campers boarded the Atlantis submarine for an excursion out of Lahaina Harbor — the Education Department’s first time bringing students back to the area since the 2023 wildfires. From the sub’s windows, keiki spotted rays gliding past shipwrecks and watched the ʻAuʻau Channel unfold in a way no textbook photo could capture. They surfaced with big smiles and even bigger questions about what else lives beneath Maui’s waters. 

Ocean Camp: A Deeper Dive 

Ocean Camp: A Deeper Dive challenged another group of keiki to look past the water’s surface and into the practices that keep Maui’s coastlines healthy. A standout day happened at Kaʻehu, where students practiced mālama ʻāina (caring for the land) through a loʻi (traditional taro patch) cleanup and hands-on lei-making. Many left with a genuine sense of accomplishment, and more than a few said they wanted to come back and volunteer with PWF again. 

That’s exactly the kind of connection to place and to Maui itself that the Education Team hopes to build in the island’s next generation of ocean stewards. 

Ocean Career Quest 

Back by popular demand, Ocean Career Quest gave middle schoolers something rarer than a field trip: a direct line to the people doing ocean conservation work for a living. Students spent the week connecting with researchers from PWF’s own Research Department, marine rescue professionals from the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute and NOAA, and Maui County lifeguards and firefighters. 

The impact was immediate. By the end of the weeklong program, more than half of participants said they had a new or stronger interest in pursuing a career in ocean stewardship. The Education Team is already developing an expanded, six-month version of Ocean Career Quest with deeper mentorship built in, set to launch in 2027. 

Summer by the Numbers

Across all three programs, here’s a look at what the summer added up to: 

• 118 keiki served across all summer programs
• 77 keiki received full scholarships to participate
• 30 environmentally based field trips, held daily
• 2 new Education staff members completed their first Ocean Camp summer
• Many volunteers engaged in summer education programs

Behind almost every one of those numbers is someone who made it possible. Nearly two-thirds of this summer’s campers attended on a full scholarship, which means for most families, cost was never the barrier. 

What’s Next 

Planning is already underway for Winter Ocean Camp, starting Dec. 28, the expansion of Ocean Career Quest for high school students and the Keiki Whale Watch program in 2027.