Outreach programs at the IfA

The faculty, staff and graduate students at the Institute for Astronomy are committed to communicating the fruits of their researches to the wider community, both through organized education programs and through informal means.

Newsletter - Na Kilo Hoku

Our quarterly newsletter titled "Na Kilo Hoku" provides the latest news about people, projects and discoveries at the Institute for Astronomy. If you would like a paper version, contact Karen Toyama in the Director's office, or consider becoming a member of "Friends of Hawaii Astronomy".

Faulkes Telescope

The Faulkes Telescope on Haleakala, Maui is the world's largest telescope devoted to education. It is operated jointly by the United Kingdom based Faulkes Telescope Corporation and the Institute for Astronomy. Contact Paul Coleman for more details.

PreCollege Student/Teacher Worshops

These are designed to promote lifelong learning about astronomy topics and astrobiology (search for life in the universe). Students are learning image processing skills to enable them to do astronomy research projects using Faulkes Telescope and others. Workshops are being held on Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Big Island and Kauai. Two June workshops are scheduled. For more information, go to www.ifa.hawaii.edu/workshops and contact Mary
Ann Kadooka.

"Frontiers of Astronomy" Community Lectures

About four times a year we invite one of our faculty or a distinguished visiting astronomer to give a public lecture on the Manoa campus. Recent lecturers have included Dr Owen Gingerich (Harvard) on "Galileo - Hero or Heretic" and Dr Lennox Cowie on "First Light: The Birth of Stars and Galaxies." and a multi-speaker presentation called "The Hitchhker's Guide to the End of Everything."

Open House

We invite the public to visit our facilities in Manoa and Hilo during our annual open house. Our next open house is scheduled at Manoa on April 27, 2008.

Friends of Hawaii Astronomy

We invite you to join "Friends of Hawaii Astronomy", a group of Hawaii citizens and astronomy enthusiasts who support the work at the Institute for Astronomy. Contact the Friends of Hawaii Astronomy Coordinator for more information

Island of Hawaii

We have an extensive outreach program on the Island of Hawaii, led by Gary Fujihara. We participate in the annual Astroday festivities in Hilo and work with the Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee, which coordinates astronomy outreach activities on the Big Island.

Speakers' Bureau

We would be happy to provide speakers on astronomy for schools, civic groups, etc., throughout the state of Hawaii. Please contact Karen Rehbock if you are interested in having an astronomer make a presentation to your organization.

Portable Planetarium

The graduate students at the IfA run the Institute's StarLab portable planetarium, as well as participate in other Institute outreach events. For more information on the StarLab, and how to request it for your school or organization, see the GEPOC webpage.

Institute Colloquia

We invite astronomers from around the world to present colloquia to our faculty and students. These colloquia occur 1-2 times per week at either at 12.30 pm or 3.30 pm. They are open to the public, though they can sometimes be of an unashamedly technical nature! If you would like to be regularly notified by email of our colloquia, please send a request to George Miyashiro .

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Each year about six undergraduate students from the US mainland spend 10-12 weeks as interns in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.