We took a field trip up Mauna Kea. It is almost 14,000 feet high and has 12 giant telescopes on top. We got up in the middle of the night and drove to the top when it was still dark. We saw the glow of the lava from Kilauea Volcano. We saw the sunrise. It was more beautiful than a sunset and lasted for a long time. It was freezing cold even though we were in Hawaii (by Joel,7).
We ate donuts on Mauna Kea and then drove all the way down to the other side of the island. We went to the Planetarium at ‘Imiloa and learned about how the Hawaiians used the stars to find their way in their canoes. To get back to Hawaii they rowed toward the Southern Cross when it was 6 degrees in the sky. Then we went for a hike where there was a waterfall by the ocean and we had a picnic and climbed trees. There were parrots in the trees (by Titus,8).
Teacher’s Two Cents (by Mom)
An amazing but exhausting day. Sea level to 14,000 back down to sea level then all the way back around the Big Island (which really did seem big after all that driving). Have to share a few highlights for me. I’ve never seen the moon so bright or so close. We had to squint when looking at it like you would looking at the sun. Next was seeing the glow of lava inside the Kilauea crater thousands of feet below us and half an island away. Seeing and hearing the telescopes operating with their eyes to the sky was also pretty cool. The sunrise over the Pacific was spectacular. But the most memorable sight of the day was seeing the shadow of Mauna Kea cast by the rising sun out over the ocean. Totally surreal. Had to share a photo.
godmadeknown 