Imagine for a moment of being on a tropical island chain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where the sea meets the sky in an annual celebration of astronomy and native culture.  It must be AstroDay Hawaii!!  The 8th annual AstroDay Hawaii took place on May 2, 2009 at the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo, Hawaii.  AstroDay is the brainchild of former Subaru Telescope Operator and current Public Outreach Officer for the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii , Gary Fujihara.   As the story goes, one day Gary had learned about Astronomy Day from the Astronomical League's website and decided to use Astronomy Day as a way to help educate the public and bring an understanding for all the scientific research being conducted atop the summit of Mauna Kea.  One of his major goals for the event was to inspire youngsters to become interested in science and math at an early age.  At the same time, blend in a mix of Hawaiian culture and thus, the creation of AstroDay Hawaii began.  Today, with the tireless efforts of many people, AstroDay brings together astronomers, engineers, scientists, astronomy clubs, Hawaiian groups, celebrities, musicians, telescope manufacturers, schools, media and more with one goal in mind - to bring astronomy to the people, especially the children.

Because both of my parents were born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, it was only natural for me to take notice of this special event, especially since I had a long time fascination with astronomy and science since my early childhood.  A few years ago, I journeyed back to the islands to not only see my relatives again, but to also see what AstroDay Hawaii was all about.  One of the first things I noticed was how organized the event was since it took place inside a big shopping mall.  With every center of the walkways filled with exhibits and thousands upon thousands of people in attendance, I realized that this was a well coordinated event that took a lot of effort from everyone involved to make it happen.  No doubt, astronomy is big here in Hawaii.  What also impressed me was seeing professional astronomers from some of the biggest astronomical observatories in the world taking the time to speak with youngsters and explained what they did for a living in a way the kids could understand.  Some observatories had interactive children's activities that helped make learning about science fun, while another observatory brought their own portable planetarium to help teach about the nightsky.  I knew right away this would be a great event for Celestron to help sponsor and participate in when resources became available.

As a sponsor of AstroDay with Astronomy Magazine, Marketing Manager, Michelle Meskill and I flew into my family's hometown to participate in this year's AstroDay Hawaii event.  With time to spare before the big event, we visited my relatives, as I showed Michelle what the local lifestyle was really all about.  We then had lunch at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, visited the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory and toured the Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii, which we highly recommend to anyone visiting the Big Island who's interested in astronomy.  The next day, the sky was as clear as could be.  It's as if the Hawaiian Gods purposely cleared the sky just in time for AstroDay!  Hilo is notoriously known for its rain.  The view of Mauna Kea, with its observatories overlooking Hilo Bay, was definitely a Kodak moment.  This would be the first time Celestron officially participated at AstroDay.  Our table was placed near center stage in a prime location.  Assistant AstroDay Organizer, Kenyan Beals, helped Michelle and I get situated as we prepared our table.  Gary and his staff of volunteers put up Celestron posters throughout the mall, which to our delight, gave our company much recognition.  Setup was fast an efficient, as we displayed our IYA FirstScope, Handheld Digital Microscope, SkyScout, FirstScope sell sheets and catalogs.  Michelle also brought along 500 orange Celestron Frisbees, pens, beanies, caps, pop rocks and IYA posters to hand out to our visitors.  We displayed our raffle prize telescopes including the IYA FirstScope, AstroMaster 70 AZ and a NexStar 4 SE and brought along a NexStar 130 SLT to display as well.  At 10 AM, the opening ceremonies began with local radio disc jockey, "DC in the Morning" giving the welcoming speech, which was followed by performances from local school children, including my cousin's son's class.  The crowds began to fill the mall as everyone began to check out the nearly 50 exhibitors and watch the performances.  The Mayor of Hilo, Billy Kenoi, showed up a bit late, but all was forgiven as he delivered his opening message and gave a proclamation for AstroDay.  At the same time, the Celestron table was swamped by people who were filling out raffle prize tickets for a chance to win one of many prizes we had donated.  As the hours passed, scheduled performers took to the stage and entertained the audience with music, song and dance.  Hawaiian performers included Keoki Kahumoku, Sonny Lim, Brittni Paiua, John Keawe and Russel Mauga and friends.  Man, what a talented group of musicians.  It's so awesome to be in Hawaii!  As the crowds gathered around our table, Michelle and I gave a demo on the products we had on display.  It was great to hear all of the interesting questions about telescopes from all the people, especially from the children.  Our IYA FirstScope was an exceptional crowd favorite with its compact size, outstanding optics and unique tribute display on the outside of the optical tube of the men and women who made a significant impact in the world of astronomy and science.  Children got a big kick out of looking out across the mall and watching people walk by through the telescope.  Our Handheld Digital Microscope was also a crowd favorite which everyone found fascinating to explore up-close the items which were laid out on the table.  "Cool!" was definitely the theme of the day.

Just after 2 PM, the Raffle Drawing commenced, and I joined "DC in the Morning" on stage to announce the winners.  The crowd was really pumped up, and I did my best to keep them on the edge of their seats.  We began by raffling off a couple of "Eyes on the Skies" DVDs, followed by a couple of "Eyes of the Skies" books which also included the DVDs.  Finally it was time to raffle off the telescopes and the crowd began to cheer loudly.  The winners had to be present in order to win.  "DC" drew the winning tickets as I announced the names.  To our surprise, a lot of the names we called did not respond, so we kept on drawing tickets until one by one, the winners stepped forward.  The grand prize, a NexStar 4 SE, was also not initially claimed, so the upbeat crowd urged me to draw again, which I happily obliged.  Finally, a shy, young lady stepped forward as the crowd moaned in disappointment that they didn't have the winning ticket.  Better luck next year.  Who knows what cool giveaways and raffle prizes will be in store for next year?  As the event began to draw to a close, nearly all of our giveaways were gone.  No matter where you looked, someone was either carrying or wearing our Orange Frisbees.  500 in all were given away and people were still asking for them up to the end.  To see photos from AstroDay, check this link: http://astroday.net/Hilites.html 

At the conclusion of AstroDay, Michelle decided to donate our display NexStar 130 SLT to teacher, Alicia Hui, who was recognized earlier in the day as the winner of the 2009 Big Island Toyota Excellence in Teaching Award.  Alicia received the award for her selfless dedication and commitment towards her student's education.  Although she had already left the mall, Gary promised to surprise her yet again and present the telescope to her on Celestron's behalf.  As an added gesture, Michelle also presented Gary with an extra IYA FirstScope we had brought along.  It was a small token of our appreciation for all of his tireless efforts to promote astronomy and science to the people of Hawaii at AstroDay and all the years of his commitment towards Public Outreach.  AstroDay would not be complete without a star party, so later that night, my cousin Scott, took us to the Visitor Information Station at the 9300 foot level on Mauna Kea to do some stargazing.  A Celestron C14 and CPC 800 were set up, along with a 24" Dob and various other scopes around the parking lot.  We marveled at seeing Polaris and the Southern Cross together at the same time.  Views of Omega Centauri, Jewel Box cluster, Eta Carina nebula, Eskimo nebula and Saturn were simply amazing, even though a bright Moon was visible that night.  What a great way to end our Hawaiian AstroDay adventure.  Special mahalos to AstroDay Founder, Gary Fujihara, Assistant AstroDay Organizer, Kenyan Beals and all the staff and volunteers for welcoming and taking good care of us.  To all the raffle prize winners, enjoy and keep looking up!  Until next AstroDay!  Aloha.