Bill Text: HI SR173 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: Supporting The imiloa Astronomy Center In Its Educational Efforts Concerning Resources On Mauna Kea At Hale Pohaku, Encouraging The Transfer Of Education Outreach At Hale Pohaku, Requesting A Report Regarding Restructuring Of The Institute For Astronomy And Mauna Kea Support Services, And Requesting The Contribution Of Financial Capital To Construct The imiloa Uka Facility.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Passed) 2019-04-12 - Report and Resolution Adopted. [SR173 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SR173-Amended.html

THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

173

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

SUPPORTING THE IMILOA ASTRONOMY CENTER IN ITS EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS CONCERNING RESOURCES ON MAUNA KEA AT HALE PŌHAKU, ENCOURAGING THE TRANSFER OF EDUCATION OUTREACH AT HALE PŌHAKU, REQUESTING A REPORT REGARDING RESTRUCTURING OF THE INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY AND MAUNA KEA SUPPORT SERVICES, AND REQUESTING THE CONTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL CAPITAL TO CONSTRUCT THE IMILOA UKA FACILITY.

 

 


     WHEREAS, this body commends the efforts of the Imiloa Astronomy Center (Imiloa) in its use of Native Hawaiian knowledge, culture, and history at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station Onizuka Center for International Astronomy, also known as Hale Pōhaku or Mid-Level Support Facility; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa was built upon unprecedented collaboration between the Hawaiian community, led by the University of Hawaii at Hilo Ka Haka Ula o Keelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language, and the astronomical community to establish its mission and purpose; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa has served as a piko, a gathering place, that brings together various audiences to engage in experiences grounded in the indigenous Hawaiian worldview that has showcased academic and scientific research since 2006; and

 

     WHEREAS, over the past thirteen years, Imiloa has served over 1,000,000 visitors, ranging in audiences from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade students, university students and faculty, members of the local community, visitors to Hawaii, and local and global scientific communities, and has hosted outreach events at various community sites throughout the world for general public engagement; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa, in partnership with the University of Hawaii at Hilo College of Hawaiian Language, has created opportunities for Hawaiian language growth and normalization through projects that establish the Hawaiian language as standard operations, including the naming of major astronomical discoveries in the Hawaiian language; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa is a founding member of Ohana Waa, the collective entity for all of the voyaging canoes in Hawaii, including Hōkūlea, Makalii, Hawaiiloa, Mookiha, Namahoe, and Hokualakai, to which Imiloa contributed resources, tools, and strategic support, including through its planetarium, to further teach and perpetuate Hawaiian navigation; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa has partnered with Mauna Kea Observatories to bring scientific research and discoveries to the public via education programs and collaborations; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa deepened communication and partnerships across a multitude of sectors, including formal higher education, research institutions, Hawaiian epistemological views and practice, and the local and global community, combining indigenous and scientific efforts to create solutions that benefit broader populations; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa is the only astronomical science center in the world that offers bilingual and bicultural educational experiences honoring the Native Hawaiian culture and the surrounding environment and provides a leading model for integrated, culture-based science education and community engagement; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Hilo, as the parent organization of Imiloa, has resolved to prioritize the meaningful increase of education and engagement of Native Hawaiian students, Hawaii Island residents, and residents of the State in the areas of astronomy, celestial navigation, and exploration; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Hilo has also prioritized providing financial support to implement an active educational and outreach program that highlights Native Hawaiian knowledge and enhances student access to and utilization of Mauna Kea based astronomical resources in the field; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa will work with the Thirty-Meter Telescope Project and the Office of Mauna Kea Management to develop informational exhibits for Hale Pōhaku for visitors regarding the natural, cultural, and archaeological resources of Mauna Kea; and

 

     WHEREAS, Imiloa will work with the Thirty-Meter Telescope Project and the Office of Mauna Kea Management to develop a Thirty-Meter Telescope outreach office that will work with Native Hawaiian groups to support and fund programs specific to Hawaiian culture and archaeological resources; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that this body supports and encourages the Imiloa Astronomy Center to further its role in developing and leading educational efforts concerning the cultural, natural, and historic resources on Mauna Kea at Hale Pōhaku; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body encourages the transfer of the education outreach efforts and operations at the University of Hawaii operated Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station Onizuka Center for International Astronomy to the Imiloa Astronomy Center; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chancellors of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and University of Hawaii at Hilo are requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020 on the restructuring of the Institute for Astronomy and the Mauna Kea Support Services at Hale Pōhaku so that the Executive Director of the Imiloa Astronomy Center is a co-equal manager with the Executive Director of the Institute for Astronomy and specifically in charge of community outreach and education; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that existing astronomical facilities are requested to be engaged in contributing financial capital resources to construct the Imiloa Uka facility at Hale Pōhaku; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, President of the University of Hawaii System, Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Executive Director of the Imiloa Astronomy Center, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Mayor of the County of Hawaii, Director of the Office of Maunakea Management, Director of the Institute for Astronomy, Chair of the Maunakea Management Board, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, President of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory, Director of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, Director of the Hoku Kea Observatory, Director of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (East Asian Observatory), Director of the Long Baseline Observatory, Director of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, Director of the Subaru Telescope, Director of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, and Director of the W.M. Keck Observatory (Keck I and Keck II).

Report Title: 

Imiloa Astronomy Center; Education Outreach; University of Hawaii; Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station Onizuka Center for International Astronomy

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