This fall, more than 1,800 students across the Hilo-Waiākea School District learned about outer space and astronomy from 20 volunteer educators during Fall Journey Week. This weeklong educational series is the newest addition to the yearlong “Journey through the Universe” program led by the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF’s NOIRLab and the Department of Education Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area.

“Unlike Spring Journey Week, where we get a lot of presenters from the continent or other countries, Fall Journey Week is very focused on Hawai‘i science with Hawai‘i STEM professionals,” said Leinani Lozi, Journey’s lead coordinator. The week’s volunteer educators were recruited from local STEM organizations, including the Maunakea Observatories, the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, the Institute for Astronomy at UH Hilo, NASA, and Shadow the Scientists.

Journey Through the Universe is celebrating its 22nd year in the classrooms thanks to the integral partnership between Gemini/NOIRLab and the DOE Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area. “(Our HIDOE leads) are critical to the whole program because they help to make the communications between our team and our schools fluid and easy,” said Lozi. Among the most popular topics requested by teachers were the sun, moon, and solar system, and astronomy with a Hawai‘i connection.

Volunteer educators explored Hawai‘i connections through both cultural and scientific perspectives, Lozi explained. “Telling the stories of the sky from our ancestors, from the telescopes, and from all the technology and staff we have on our island — that’s really what Journey is about, sharing everything we do with our community,” said Lozi. For example, students gained an appreciation for how astronomers work together across Hawai‘i by examining images from the Maunakea telescopes and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on Haleakalā. Students also learn about how Native Hawaiians tracked time by watching the sun and creating timekeeping stations. They also got the chance to explore Hawai‘i astronomy through Hawaiian creation stories, like how the demigod Maui slowed the sun to make days longer.

Fall Journey Week is an expansion of “Journey Through the Universe” and was created at the request of teachers at participating schools. Year after year, the Journey staff aims to improve the program to ensure it meets the needs of our Hawaiʻi Island keiki. One of the ways they do this is by collecting feedback from students and teachers to improve program content. One fourth-grade teacher from Hilo Union Elementary School commented, “Our presenter was genuinely excited about their content, and that helped to excite the students. I also appreciated how well she broke down large concepts for my students to better understand.”

Overall this is what our Hilo-Waiākea community can expect from the 22nd Journey Through the Universe during the rest of this school year: from September to May, young students in pre-K through first grade explore the cosmos through portable planetarium shows. During Spring Journey Week, Feb. 2 through 6, 2026, students in grades 2 - 12 engage with classroom presentations, career panels, and community events. Following Spring Journey Week, for the first time ever, Journey program staff will be hosting summit visits for high school students.

The ever-expanding Journey Through the Universe program is made possible through the collaboration and generosity of our Journey team, volunteer STEM professionals, the Hilo-Waiakea DOE, our amazing schoolteachers, and our brilliant students.

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