Did you know that Hawaii is one of the only places where you can see stars in both the southern and northern hemisphere?
Celebrate the wonderful location that we live in by letting the keiki stay up late to do a little stargazing. Not an expert stargazer? No problem, here are some tips on what to point out and what to look for.
Arcturus (Hokulea)
Also known as the “Star of Joy,” Arcturus is one of the brightest stars in the sky and sits directly above the Hawaiian islands. Ancient Polynesian navigators used Hokulea as a guide to know when they had arrived to the Hawaiian chain. Find the Big Dipper and follow its pan handle to Arcturus – “follow the arc to Arcturus”.
Track the Space Station
Look up in the Hawaiian sky and you may see a bright light passing overhead. That very well could be NASA’s Space Station. To be sure, head to nasa.gov and select “Station & Shuttle” in the right-hand column. There you can see when the Space Station will be over Maui.
Track the phases of the moon
The ancient Hawaiians didn’t only look to the stars for ocean travel, they also used the moon to determine when to fish and plant their crops. Do a little research and teach your keiki the Hawaiian names for the phases of the moon. Then head to www.almanac.com to find out when those phases will be. Have fun with it and have a full moon party during Akua, or the third full-moon phase, and go fishing like the ancient Hawaiians did during this phase.
