Last Friday my girlfriend and I journeyed over the Pali to experience The Hokulani Imaginarium at the Windward Community College. On tap for the evening was "The Tales of Maya Skies", a story of the Mayan people's devotion to studying the heavens. As I entered the planetarium I realized I was going to have a learning experience in... an informal environment.
As we reclined in our seats and gazed at the domed ceiling I was amazed at how such a place had evaded my my knowledge for so long; one more hidden treasure in paradise. The curator began to acclimate our eyes as she simulated the sun setting. Before we knew it the sun crossed the sky and set; night began its watch. The Hokulani Imagniarium can do many things with high tech. gadgetry and as if someone said, "abracadabra", we were transported into a world without light pollution. Our host ensured us that the amount of stars that twinkled down at us are always there, unfortunately, do to our the amount of light from Earth we no longer see them. Let me say, it was certainly a site to see. We viewed the stars for constellations, located the the Big Dipper and then identified the North star, which to my amazement never moves although everything around it does. We flipped and flopped The Milky Way Galaxy as if it were a banana pancake. How awe inspiring to learn that our very solar system is just a pinpoint in one of the many arms of the spiraling Milky Way. In and of itself, the Milky Way, one might say, resembles that of an octopus performing a cartwheel in front of a (circa 1982) Light Bright. All of this was just the curator showing off what "Hokulani" could do, and we hadn't even begun "Tales of the Maya Skies".
The film presentation began with the tale of two Mayan brothers; one who became the sun and one the moon, a battle of 'worlds' and the reincarnation of a lost father. From there, we journeyed to Central America to visit the ruins of the Mayan Empire, where the precision and mystifying accuracy of the Mayan calendar was discussed. For those doomsday seekers their was no reference to the sudden end date of the Mayan calendar; December 21, 2012. Through the entire experience, although safe and stationary, I felt as if I was flying through jungles, hovering over Mayan temples and speed racing through the galaxy. The Mayan story story seemed to take on new meaning as I was transported to various locations and saw images from out-of-reach vantage points.
As I participated in this fabulous, engaging learning experience I continuously thought about how....fabulous and engaging this would be for my former DOE students. I wondered how many schools actually knew of the Hokulani Imaginarium and of those, about how many have actually utilized this great, informal educational resource. The Hokulani Imaginarium offers a supplemental approach to formal education. For many of us, especially those outside of grades k-12 the Hokulani Imaginarium is a "gateway" for curious ambitions and an enriched desire to learn.
So after after visiting the Hokulani Imaginarium, the question at hand is, "To ZOmbie or Not to ZomBie?" Hokulani Imaginarium is captivating and jaw dropping and thus would be too much stimulus for a braaaain eating ZOmbie. In fact, the experience might even pump some life back into the rotted veins and arteries of one of the Walking Dead. Seated in the Imaginarium next to a ZomBie may actually be the safest place for you and your braaaain as the corpse's shell steers wildly at the planetarium mumbling in shock and awe. The answer, "Not To ZOmbie!"
http://aerospace.wcc.hawaii.edu/imaginarium.html
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