The giant inflatable Humpback whale, affectionately known as “Kamakai”, arrived on the Island of Molokaʻi on April 2. This life-size whale was blown up at the Mitchell Pauole Community Center in Kaunakakai by partners from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Student groups from four 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLCs) on the island rotated through learning activities, both inside and outside of the life-size whale, over the course of three full days. Cindy Among-Serrao from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hosted students and guided them inside the whale to investigate the internal anatomy, including its three-stomach digestive system. Learning Endeavors and 21st CCLC partner staff also engaged students in creating whale puppets, playing whale trivia games, and learning how scientists monitor Humpback whales by identifying their tails, called “flukes.” 

This was only one part of the Wai to Kai program in Hawaiʻi, funded by the eeBLUE 21st CCLC Watershed STEM Education Partnership Grant Program and operated by Learning Endeavors, a nonprofit in Hawaiʻi. Other parts of the program included a whale watch boat adventure and a mobile program engaging students in hands-on STEM learning with a focus on watersheds.

The whale watch was a family engagement experience, welcoming parents and their students to learn together. Molokaʻi Fish and Dive provided the experience on their boat, and Cindy Among-Serrao from NOAA served as an additional onboard naturalist. Families witnessed Humpback whales breaching, slapping their pectoral fins, and flashing their flukes.

In February and March, Learning Endeavors staff rotated through the four 21st CCLC sites with a mobile Wai to Kai program, designed to engage students in STEM learning relating to the fringing coral reef ecosystems and the beaches, both of which line much of the coasts of Molokaʻi. Students designed and built edible coral reefs, compared coral reef fish mouth adaptations, and investigated the contents of sand from different beaches on the island. Using wireless digital microscopes with iPads, students compared sand samples while adding vinegar to see the level of reaction to the calcium carbonate in the sand. Each student also taped sand onto a map worksheet to display the different sand types at various locations on the island. 

Each 21st CCLC site used a giant 3x8-foot map of the Island of Molokaʻi showing the watershed boundaries, the schools, and the streams that flow from mountain to sea. The activity was designed to develop geographic understanding of their island, the ahupuaʻa (cultural land boundaries similar to watersheds), and the connections of wai (water) to kai (sea). This program is an extension of a previous eeBLUE 21st CCLC Watershed STEM Education Partnership collaboration between Learning Endeavors and the Molokaʻi 21st CCLC Program, called Champions of Coastal Resilience, which began in 2020.