The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus transformed into a living laboratory on November 20 for high school students from Keaʻau, Hilo, Waiākea, Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts & Science and Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu to explore how mapping technology is used to solve real-world problems.
UH Hilo’s GIS Day brought an industry-standard celebration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) directly to Hawaiʻi Island.
“I think events like this are really important to get the students involved,” said UH Hilo geography and environmental science Professor Ryan Perroy, a member of the event organizing team. “Anytime we can get local students here to UH Hilo and see the facilities and see different projects, it’s fantastic.”
Organized by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and its STEMworks program, the event marked a significant expansion of STEM outreach to rural communities, previously held only on Oʻahu and Maui. Please read the full story here:
Connecting students to real-world solutions
From tracking invasive species to mapping lava flows, students saw firsthand how GIS technology is critical to Hawaiʻi’sfuture. Workshops included drone and light detection and radar demonstrations, wayfinding activities within a cyber canoe room, and using ground-penetrating radar to see beneath the earth’s surface.
“The most surprising thing was when we got to use one of the scanners that they use to see under the ground,” said Kambree, a junior at Keaʻau High School. “I thought that was cool, because they want to make it a point to make sure that they don’t harm the actual land.”
Empowering rural communities
Lalaine Pasion, STEMworks Program manager at MEDB, emphasized the impact of representation.
“A lot of times students in rural areas don’t know what’s out there and available to them,” she said. “I believe the students did not even know what GIS really was or that there is a huge industry right here in their community,” she said. “There’s so many careers out there, and we want to make sure that these students understand that there is a field in GIS that they’re able to explore, have access to it, and see real industry at work—especially here at UH Hilo.”
