Saturday, July 29, 2006 - Meeting with ALII
Well the week has wound down, but before I head back to Hilo a meeting is held between Institute for Astronomy Research & Education Specialist Mary Kadooka, Astronomy instructor Mike Nassir and me at the Zippy's Restaurant on Vineyard Boulevard. The meeting was held to discuss some ideas for Mary's Astrobiology Laboratory Institute for Instructors (ALII) workshop that will be held on Maui this fall with a focus on astro-imaging with a telescope and Charge Coupled Device (CCD) and processing the images on computer with software for astronomy research that could lead to student science projects. We talked about doing some observing on Haleakala with the Haleakala Amateur Astronomers and their gear, then following up with reduction of the data the next day. I am looking at recruiting one or two dedicated and motivated amateur astronomers, teachers and students on Hawaii Island who can participate in this program with the hopes of their becoming mentors to high school students wishing to undertake a research project in astronomy.
Friday, July 28, 2006 - A Week on Oahu
I have to apologize for not keeping up with this blog, but business on Oahu has kept me quite busy. Migrating over to a new laptop has also posed some challenges on getting all my files and applications synced and working seamlessly. One app that I overlooked was my web development software, and thanks to Karen Teramura at IfA Pubs in Manoa I was reminded that Adobe offers 30 day free trial period on all of their software - Bingo! Back in business (until I get back to Hilo and reinstall CS2). It has certainly been a productive and fruitful business trip, with visits to UH College of Engineering, Charter Schools Administrative Office and with FLL robotics coordinators. All I can say at this time is that we are looking at developing another world-class signature event for Hilo this coming fall. Those who work with me will know of what I speak - stay tuned, as we will announce something in the near future. In the meantime, we continue to undertake our work in the community. Earlier this week, I had the honor of meeting Aaron Dengler of Punahou School and Sarah Tamayose, a retired school teacher. These two are part of a group of dedicated people who bring robotics education to youngsters on Oahu. Both are stepping up to the plate to co-coordinate the inaugural FIRST Lego League (FLL) Qualifying Tournament on Saturday, December 2nd. Although Hawaii has had local FLL events that coincide with the official tournaments held nationwide between November and January, this will be the first time Hawaii will host an official Regional Qualifier. Congratulations to Aaron, Sarah and their group of volunteers who are really making a monumental leap in becoming a sanctioned robotic event. Its going to be a lot of hard work and they know it - we fully support their endeavors and look forward to a successful event.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - Robotics on Mayor's Show
After visiting us last week, Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim sent his videographer Rosie to our Hilo Youth Robotics classroom last Friday to film some of the activities of our program. He Interviewed several students, and a local teacher on-camera, and also took some footage of a few robots that teams were working on. The segment will air this week Thursday on cable channel 54 on Thursday, July 27th at 8:00 pm and on Friday, July 28th at 10:00 pm.
Wednesday, July 18, 2006 - Mayor Kim Visitation
Well, we had quite an exciting day at our Hilo Youth Robotics workshop, with visitations by Mr Tentacle, Steve Judd, and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim. Around mid-morning, Mayor Kim stopped by our second-floor classroom to see our program in action. Amid the din of excitement, he was able to see a lot of inspired young minds at work designing, constructing and programming Lego robots. The students have been learning fundamental concepts of robotics over the past two weeks and are now feverishly working at completing the program's culminating challenge. Mayor Kim also had an opportunity to speak with our two instructors from Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in upstate New York Aashish Kabra and Clarynne Ishikawa. I am really glad that Mayor Kim was able to witness the activities, particularly those of our local teachers getting training on robotics as well. This capacity-building component of our workshop will help initiate after-school programs at schools and community centers throughout Hilo this fall. This will provide continuity for the students who have gone through out summer program, and will become a feeder into other established scholastic robotics programs at the high school level. After Mayor Kim departed, our good buddy Steve Judd stopped by with a few of his robots: an antweight wedge, a holonomic drive equilateral triangleBot, a 12 pound combat robot, an autonomous phototrophic robot, and a Robo-One bipedal robot. The students were clearly enthralled with Steve's collection and appeared to have a surge of inspiration during their build session after the presentation. We're winding down to the end of our last session, and indeed the program.
Monday, July 17, 2006 - On the Mountain
The start of a new week found me on the mountain today, facilitating a tour for a charitable fundraising donor. The University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy makes donations of certificates for a "Special Afternoon on Mauna Kea" tour and stargazing to charitable organizations for their fundraising auctions. The tours consist of transportation between Hale Pohaku and the summit, tours of a couple of observatories, dinner at the mid-level facility for astronomers and observatory staff and stargazing at the VIS. We are really busy at this time, but not too busy to facilitate a special afternoon for a supporter of charitable organizations that benefit our local communities. We make time for these VIPs and have a bit of fun while we're up on the mountain. Remember, if you can't have fun, it ain't worth doing.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - Girl Scouts on the Mountain
Today, we had a visit from Girl Scout troupe 950 all the way from Kauai. We have arranged a special afternoon and evening on the mountain for these young ladies aged 14-16, including a nature walk through the Silversword enclosure and presentations by a Mary Beth Laychak, a service observer from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and Anne Michels, an astronomy student at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. It is imperative that we provide good female role models for our young girls, and I can think of no better examples. Mary Beth delivered a Powerpoint presentation of her work at the CFHT as a service observer to help astronomers use the sophisticated instrumentation like Megacam and WIRCAM to their best efficiency. Some of her work has been featured in the CFHT Calendar, a compendium of amazing astronomical images. Anne encouraged the young ladies to explore their opportunities in Hawaii, particularly the rich sciences the environment provides. The girls and their chaperones enjoyed a dinner at the Hale Pohaku dining hall before making their way down to the Visitor information Station for a little stargazing. All in all a wonderful way to share the science of astronomy to some young ladies from Kauai.
Monday, July 10, 2006 - Third Robotics Session
Today is the start of our third and final two-week workshop for students 9-13 years old. Again, we have a full house of 20 bright youngsters in this session eager to get started learning about robotics. It was interesting to watch the excitement and anticipation in the eyes of the students at the beginning, and when they got around to the free-build at the latter part of the day, you could really see their creativity emerge. I was impressed with some of the creations, and it seems apparent that some of these kids have some experience with Legos for sure. The students built some pretty interesting robots - three-wheeled vehicles, tank tread propulsion, and even one with a gattling gun that rotates. It will be interesting to see how this groups stacks up against some of the other sessions, but for now some of the teachers and facilitators have stated that this group seemed quieter - of course, this is just the first day, so things can certainly change.
Friday, July 7, 2006 - Graduation for Session 2
Our second session of the Hilo Youth Robotics summer enrichment program just celebrated the graduation of its students today. Family and friends gathered at the second floor of the Connections Charter School in downtown Hilo to see their children's project presentations. It was a packed house in the classroom with standing-room only for the wonderful program that consisted of each team demonstrating their robots and talking about their design and development. Afterward, the students received their certificates of completion and had their pictures taken. It was fun being able to talk to many of the parents directly to discuss their children's progress in the class - we also informed them of robotics programs available to them in the fall at a school they attend, or one nearby.
Wednesday, July 5, 2006 - Hilo Youth Robotics Pa`ina
Today, we had a small pa`ina for our undergraduate instructors from Renssellaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The idea came from one of our local teachers who has gone through the educator training, Loke Roseguo. I am truly grateful for her enthusiasm in the workshops and her commitment to the children. Loke thought that we should throw a party for the instructors while the family of one was in town - so she opened up her house to Aashish Kabra and his mom and dad and sister (who were visiting from Houston, Texas) and Clarynne Ishikawa. Joining us were my family and that of Connections Charter School teacher Kurt Jarrett. I am very pleased that both Loke and Kurt are doing so well in the program - they have really taken the initiative to learn and are bringing their excitement to the workshops every day (of course our other local teachers are doing just as well). Today's party was a great opportunity to know each other a little better and to spread the aloha beyond the shores of our island state. We chanted our way into her house, then treated to a pule by Loke and Kurt's two daughters before partaking in a wonderful dinner. I remember hearing Ashish's mom and dad saying a number of times how lucky they felt being able to witness this side of Hawaii that so few visitors are able to experience. All kudos go to Loke and her warm heart for opening her hale to our extended family. Mahalo nui, Loke!
Tuesday, July 4, 2006 - Independence Day
I leisurely regained consciousness to the sight of my wife and son staring down at me from the side of my bed. Their looks of incredulity suggested that I have overslept, and a quick glance at the clock indicated that to be true: 7:30 ! My normal circadian rhythms dictate that I begin each morning around 4:30 am, but a late start today probably means my body really needed the downtime. So this is a holiday, a sanctioned day off from work, but I feel compelled to do something constructive, so I warm up the soldering iron and begin tinkering with some projects I had lying around the office/workshop. Kaipo stops by from time to time and helps out by being my third hand or just to ask questions and play with some of my tools. He is a bit young for some of the projects I work on, but he is a maker - he enjoys building things with his set of Legos, and maybe more importantly enjoys taking things apart. Better keep my eye on that boy before he starts working on pulling my stuff apart.
Saturday, July 1, 2006 - Haleakala
After the ceremony of an astronomical facility on Maui, I trekked over to a couple of sites on the summit of Haleakala to take a look at the recently constructed Hawaiian ahu. Some of the Hawaiian cultural practitioners on Maui were looking to establish a site for their ceremonies and protocol - since the true summit of Pu`u Kolekole features a visitors lookout station, it would not be suitable. Alternative sites were investigated and two were chosen that overlooked the eastern and western horizons. Ahu, or alters were constructed of rocks in the region to provide Hawaiian cultural groups a private, secluded location to pursue their activities undisturbed by tourists or astronomers. The sites can be viewed here.