A Campus Huaka'i: Weaving Geological, Historical & Cultural Perspectives in Hawai'i

The University of Hawai`i at Manoa is striving to become a Native Hawaiian place of learning. As part of this effort, we developed a huaka`i (fieldtrip) to explore the intertwined geological, historical, and cultural influences on our campus. Our purpose is two-fold: (1) to showcase an example of how science can be taught in ways that honor Hawaiian culture and history; and (2) to stimulate interest and collaborations among faculty to develop additional place-based curricula offerings that draw connections between Hawaiian culture and Western science. Evaluations of a pilot fieldtrip generated considerable positive and constructive feedback, which was used to significantly improve the fieldtrip. In this paper, we share an abbreviated version of the current fieldtrip, and sincerely welcome any additional comments and suggestions.