{"id":224230,"date":"2025-10-24T09:51:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T19:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=224230"},"modified":"2025-10-24T09:51:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T19:51:47","slug":"moku-o-loe-open-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/24\/moku-o-loe-open-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Moku o Lo\u02bbe open house connects community with world-class marine science"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Open house visitors learn about thermal resilience at HIMB<\/abbr>\u2019s Coral Resilience Lab. (Photo credit: Maria Frostic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moku o Loʻe<\/span> (Coconut Island) opened its doors to the community on October 18, for a behind-the-scenes look at the world-class marine research conducted in Kāneʻohe<\/span> Bay. The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa\u2019s Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute of Marine Biology<\/a> (HIMB<\/abbr>) hosted its inaugural open house, welcoming nearly 200 community members.<\/p>\n

Engaging with research<\/h2>\n
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At the Geometric Ecology Lab, open house visitors are captivated by a 3D coral being printed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Visitors traveled to the island aboard HIMB<\/abbr>\u2019s educational vessel, Ka Noelo Kai (Knowledge from the Sea), and embarked on a two-hour guided tour. The experience featured stops at research labs that study everything from the tiniest to the largest of ocean life, and offered direct engagement with HIMB<\/abbr> faculty, students and staff. An array of hand-on activities highlighted diverse areas of study and showcased the new tools HIMB<\/abbr> researchers use to understand and protect the oceans, locally and globally.<\/p>\n

“We were delighted to host our first Open House,” said HIMB<\/abbr> Director Megan Donahue. “We welcomed neighbors from Koʻolaupoko<\/span> and around the island and shared our research on sharks, corals and microbes, and the technology we use to study them. It was a great day, and we hope this will become a regular event.”<\/p>\n

Participants enjoyed their experience with HIMB<\/abbr> research. One attendee remarked, “Wonderful tour—great guides and so very informative. Good to know that studies are being done to ensure that our reef and sea animals will be here for future generations.”<\/p>\n

Extending hospitality<\/h2>\n
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Participants learn the basics of tagging sharks. (Photo credit: Maria Frostic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event was organized by HIMB<\/abbr> Community Education Coordinator Lauren Van Heukelem and HIMB Indigenous Stewardship Coordinator Aimee Sato.<\/p>\n

“The HIMB<\/abbr> Open House brought together HIMB<\/abbr> faculty, students, staff, and partners to highlight HIMB<\/abbr> research, innovative technology, education, and public outreach,” said Van Heukelem. “We look forward to welcoming even more of our community to HIMB during future events.”<\/p>\n

Guests were welcomed with a mele komo (entrance chant), grounding them in the place names and elements of the area. Sato recalled the sight of local ʻohana<\/span> visiting with one another and enjoying the scenery as a personal highlight.<\/p>\n

“I was able to talk story with multigenerational families that each experienced something different depending on their age,” said Sato. “Keiki enjoyed the hands-on activities, m\u0101kua adults were interested in the world-class research or ways to help, and kūpuna were able to reminisce on past relationships to the island.”<\/p>\n

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Keiki learning about marine bacteria from our marine microbiologist. (Photo credit: Maria Frostic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute of Marine Biology hosted its inaugural open house on Moku o Loʻe<\/span> (Coconut Island) on October 18. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":224211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[53,175,9],"class_list":["post-224230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-hawaii-institute-of-marine-biology","tag-marine-biology","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t