Congratulations, Institute For Astronomy! Discover ..... how fun and inspiring Hawaiian culture and science can be for your children. Entertain .... your family/guests with our planetarium shows. Celebrate ... special events with your loved ones in our function rooms. €‚ƒ„‚€… †€€‡ˆ‰Š‹‚†Œ„€ PRESERVING THE CULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The Offi ce of Maunakea Management has devoted over 15 years to stewardship of the University’s managed lands on Maunakea. Its dedication and actions to preserve the cultural and natural resources were recognized through several awards including the prestigious 2017 Preservation Commendation Award from Historic Hawai‘i Foundation for its “commitment to stewardship and best practices in cultural resource understanding, protection and preservation” on Maunakea. The Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce bestowed its 2017 Pu–alu Cultural and Heritage award for OMKM’s “implementation of its Long-Term Historic Property Monitoring Plan” that “specifi cally enhances cultural stewardship on Maunakea and preserves our island’s cultural heritage.” OMKM was established to oversee the Maunakea Science Reserve. It works closely with the Maunakea Management Board, Kahu Ku– Mauna, a council comprised of Hawaiian cultural resource persons, and the community at large. malamamaunakea.org Kimura, who studied Hawaiian language and literature at UH-Hilo, got involved in the discussions to form ‘Imiloa in its early stages following the new millennium. She became deputy director after its opening and executive director in 2010. “I saw it as an opportunity to advance our Hawaiian language, to advance our Hawaiian worldview,” she said. “And I thought by bringing that together with science, modern science, it could really empower both science and our cultural revitalization efforts by coming together to forge new ways of understanding.” During the planning stages, Kimura said they created about 200 new Hawaiian words to describe phenomenon and objects in space not visible to the naked eye, such as black hole and nebula. “You got to understand deeply what those concepts are, and you got to understand deeply how to create that same sort of understanding in a totally different language,” she said. While everyone agreed on the mission, there was some clashing of perspectives on how to do that. Kimura said that was a healthy process to go through. “In that process, I saw people who could not agree at all, on Big Bang versus Kumulipo,” she said. “That the validity on either one, they couldn’t agree. I saw they were really transformed through the process of having to work very closely together, explaining one another’s perspectives very deeply because they had to create a product that was usable for the general public walking through ‘Imiloa.” Over the years, Kimura said the astronomy community significantly has increased its engagement with the rest of the island, creating new opportunities for children to get involved and feel connected to the work they do. And ‘Imiloa is often there, too, helping to support programs like Journey Through the Universe and Maunakea Scholars, and provide them with cultural education. There is still tension and conflict over use of Maunakea for astronomy, as seen with the protests against the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope. Kimura said she hopes West Hawaii Today ‘Imiloa can still serve as a place for dialogue. She said she also is looking to include that conflict in an exhibit that could be ready by the end of 2017. Kimura said it will give a historical overview of Maunakea from different dimensions, including astronomical, natural, social-political and management. “So this issue with TMT has given us the opportunity, made us realize that we need to step up to that and be this resource for the community to learn about the historical development on Maunakea,” she said. “That’s one way we are responding to the current issues.” ‘Imiloa is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday at 600 ‘Imiloa Place, Hilo. On the web: www. imiloahawaii.org. Email Tom Callis at tcallis@ hawaiitribune-herald.com. 34 Sunday, December 24, 2017 ‘IMILOA From page 33 Courtesy photo The ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii is located at 600 Imiloa Place in Hilo.
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