Who says culture and science don’t mix? Discover how ancient Polynesian mariners navigated the Pacific by using the stars at Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo. Interactive exhibits and programs offer an understanding of Hawaiian values that connect the land, sea and skies.
In addition, the world-class center teaches visitors about astronomy through a Hawaiian world view, emphasizing research at the summit of the Big Isle’s Mauna Kea. Hawaii’s tallest mountain is a premiere astronomical site and the future home of the next generation of observatories, the Thirty Meter Telescope.
Fun includes a 3D full-dome planetarium with compelling shows and dated Friday evening programs. See animated, planetary data like storms, ocean temperature and surface formations on a six-foot-diameter globe at Science on a Sphere. At the ViewSpace exhibit, watch an ever-changing kaleidoscope of images fed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.Outside, stroll through a native landscape planted with endemic, indigenous and Polynesian-introduced plants, the latter were brought to Hawaii in seafaring canoes. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.