Posted on: Monday, June 14, 2004
Past has a place at high-tech center
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
HILO, Hawai'i — Construction has begun on the $28 million Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center, whose unique exhibits will attempt to connect high-tech scientific discoveries with ancient Hawaiian cultural traditions.
The concrete slab was poured last month at the nine-acre site in the University Park of Science and Technology, part of the University of Hawai'i-Hilo. The tilt-up walls will be poured on the slab and erected this month, with structural steel to follow.
The facility, financed largely by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is expected to open in late 2005. A public blessing and dedication of the construction site will be this month at the science park, home to base facilities for the Gemini North, Caltech Submillimeter, Subaru and other observatories operating atop Mauna Kea.
UH-Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng said the project will showcase the work of the Mauna Kea observatories and "bring the concepts and discipline of astronomy alive."
Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center director Marlene Hapai said she believes that the center, easily visible to cruise-ship passengers at Hilo Bay, will attract at least 100,000 visitors annually.
The striking design of the 40,000-square-foot center includes a series of titanium cones and other structures that will house a 12,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a multipurpose planetarium with a dome 53 feet in diameter, classrooms, and a restaurant and gift shop.
The design-build team for the project is Durrant Media Five, Oda/McCarty Architects and Taisei Construction Corp.
The Hawaiian culture will be well-represented at the center, alongside the latest astronomy research. For example, an exhibit titled "Origins" will explain the Hawaiian Kumulipo creation chant and the big-bang theory, which both speak of light and life springing from darkness. The "Voyages" exhibit will detail modern space exploration and discovery while giving Polynesian voyagers their due.
The blessing and dedication will be at 3:30 p.m. June 30 in front of the Caltech base facility at the corner of A'ohoku Place and Nowelo Street.
Starting at noon, there will be exhibits, activities and entertainment. Observatory base facilities in the park will conduct an open house featuring exhibits, tours and solar viewing. Waimea-based observatories also will be represented.
Other science and Hawaiian cultural exhibits and activities will be set up outside.
Parking will be at the UH-Hilo campus, where a shuttle van will be provided. Additional parking will be available on Nowelo Street and the newly constructed Road C in the science park.
School groups can schedule visits by calling the center at (808) 933-3916 by June 21.
Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
