‘Imiloa Astronomy Center will be honoring Hawaii’s native forest birds as it celebrates its 18th birthday on Sunday.
‘Imiloa is offering free admission to visitors for the 18th La Hanau Celebration, Hanohano Na Manu Maulukua — Honoring Native Forest Birds of Hawaii − from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The theme of celebrating native forest birds was chosen when the state declared 2024 as Ka Makahiki o Na Manu Nahele, the Year of the Forest Birds, to recognize their importance to the environment and culture.
Staff at ‘Imiloa spent the week decorating for the event and creating activities that will be used to educate the community about Hawaii’s native birds.
“There will be exhibits exploring our native ecosystems, numerous activities and crafts, food and craft vendors, and outreach tables hosted by organizations and agencies working to protect our native bird species,” said Ku‘ulei Bezilla, program planner for ‘Imiloa. “Plus, guests will enjoy free birthday treats from KTA Super Stores.”
Experts in Hawaii’s native forest birds will be giving fun, educational presentations in the center’s planetarium throughout the day.
Patrick Hart will be immersing audiences into the world of Hawaiian birds by focusing on the diversity and beauty of their song, with presentations at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Hart is the principal investigator of UH-Hilo’s Listening Observatory for Hawaiian Ecosystems Bioacoustics Lab, or LOHE Lab, and has been conducting research about Hawaii’s forests and forests birds since 1991.
Alex Wang, a Hawaii Island wildlife biologist, will give a presentation at 11:30 a.m. where he will introduce some of Hawaii’s most endangered forest birds and the immediate efforts in place to save them from extinction.
Ending the presentations at 1:30 p.m., Noah Gomes will dive into his lifelong passion for Hawaii’s native birds and introduce some of the roles they play in traditional stories, chants and poetry.
Visitors are welcomed to explore everything ‘Imiloa has to offer throughout the day. There also will be booths and live music performances outside the building with hula from Unulau to start at 10:30 a.m.
Hula will be followed by live music from Poki‘i Seto at 11:15 a.m., Kaleimaumaka Lorenzo at 12:30 p.m., and Kinohi, Namaka and Bruce at 1:45 p.m.
After celebrating its birthday, ‘Imiloa will be anticipating the arrival of the a traveling “Kaulana Mahina” exhibit developed by INPEACE, which will explore the Hawaiian moon phases and observation.
The exhibit will be displayed at the center from Tuesday, March 12, to Monday, June 10.
While the spring Halau Lamaku has sold out, the summer program for keiki will be announced in early April. The center is looking to host more Halau Okupu toddler programs, as well.
“As part of the community, ‘Imiloa has adapted to the needs of our local residents while holding on to our core mission of honoring Maunakea — from the depths of the oceans, to the land and up the mauna to the skies above us,” Bezilla said. “‘Imiloa is excited to continue to grow with the community and continue to expand offerings and educational experiences for Hawaiiʻs people and visitors alike.”
For more information about ‘Imiloa, visit imiloahawaii.org.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com
