Page 6 - MidWeek Windward - May 17, 2023

6 MAY 17, 2023
Windward Keiki Can Go Full ‘STEAM’ Ahead With Hands-on Fun
BY MARIA KANAI
She says PULS tries to container — at Bishop Mu- especially in elementary
Pop-Up Labs for STEAM is exactly what it sounds like — a mobile lab that lets keiki explore science, technology, engineering, arts and math with a dose of sustainability.
prioritize visits to Title 1 or seum from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. low-income schools. Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays The hope is to inspire an and Saturdays through May
schools. These include mi- croscopes, dissection tools and monitoring equipment.
Since October 2019, PULS has visited 41 sites, reaching more than 4,600 students and logging more than 22,000 student lab hours. As of 2023, PULS reached more than 1,000 students all across O‘ahu — including ones in Kailua and Waimānalo on the Wind- ward side.
STEAM disciplines, which Weaint says are the wave of the future.
While there, children ex- perience what it’s like to be a marine scientist by learn- ing about coral reefs, coral anatomy, common Hawaiian coral species, local reef-res- toration projects and more.
It receives financial sup- port from the City & County of Honolulu as well as Ha- wai‘i Community Founda- tion and Atherton Family Foundation.
Keiki participate in a bee dissection lab as part of Pop-Up Labs for STEAM.
PHOTO COURTESY POP-UP LABS FOR STEAM
“I hope these students come to understand how global environmental issues have local relevance that they can help solve, which can help livelihoods and Hawai‘i’s way of life,” she says. “I hope they can ac- knowledge their role in the future of our planet as deci- sion-makers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, scientists and more, and will be responsi- ble for our resources.”
“We aim to help our youth acquire the skills they’ll need to be creative problem solvers and become their generation’s innovators, educators, researchers and stewards,” says Weaint.
To learn more about PULS, visit puls-hawaii.org or fol- low the organization on so- cial media (@pulshawaii). To volunteer to teach at PULS or to make a monetary donation through PULS’ fiscal sponsor, O‘ahu Resources Conserva- tion and Development Coun- cil, visit oahurcd.org/donate.
“We have been fortunate
to receive grants that have enabled us to go to differ- ent regions, such as Castle Foundation’s Pilina Fund to pop-up at schools in
Waimānalo or Hawai‘i Com- munity Foundation to pop- up at schools on the West side,” PULS founder Pamela Weaint says.
Windward O‘ahu keiki can currently experience the roving workshop — which is built into a portable shipping
PULS travels to a new location monthly. Once at a site, the door to the container slides open to reveal the lab, which is stocked with tools and technologies that aren’t readily available in schools,
interest and enthusiasm for 30.
“Students enjoy the change of scenery from the classroom and often feel like they are going on a field trip,” Weaint says. “While at the lab, students are off computers and screens. The focus of each lesson is a hands-on lab activity, such as building, creating, mea- suring, dissecting, monitor- ing and more.”
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