{"id":239169,"date":"2026-08-18T15:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T01:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=239169"},"modified":"2026-08-18T15:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T01:20:08","slug":"science-in-olelo-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/18\/science-in-olelo-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"In this lab, the science happens in ʻ\u014dlelo Â鶹´«Ã½"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>
\"PIPES
K\u012bpuka’s Hoʻolana Internship Program provides Native Hawaiian students with paid, career-connected internships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kamaka Frasco\u2019s lab is a row of tanks at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo Coral Nursery, where she spends part of her week tending coral for restoration. She spends the other part in a classroom at Ka ʻUmeke<\/span> K\u0101ʻeo<\/span>, a preK–12 Hawaiian language immersion school, teaching students how that restoration works\u2014entirely in ʻ\u014dlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language). Some of the corals she cares for don\u2019t yet have documented Hawaiian names<\/a>. Helping identify them is part of the job.<\/p>\n

\"Person
Kamaka Frasco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I want to show them that ʻ\u014dlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> exists everywhere,” said Frasco, a UH<\/abbr> Hilo English graduate and a member of the ʻ\u014dlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> cohort of the university\u2019s Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science<\/a> (PIPES<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

A single marine science course sparked her love for ocean conservation. Her PIPES<\/abbr> internship gave her somewhere to put it and a way to merge it with storytelling. Financial support from PIPES<\/abbr> and UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s K\u012bpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center<\/a> allowed her to work at the nursery while collaborating with Hale Kuamoʻo<\/span><\/a>, UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Hawaiian language center, on a children’s book about coral restoration, written in Hawaiian.<\/p>\n

From intern to mentor<\/h2>\n
\"science
Frasco is writing a children’s book about coral restoration inspired by her PIPES internship.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This summer, Frasco stepped into a peer mentor role, guiding new interns through research and huakaʻi<\/span> (excursions). Her focus: getting them to “speak their manaʻo<\/span> (ideas)” and recognize their own capacity to shape resource management.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m super grateful,” Frasco said. “I never thought I\u2019d end up where I am today, but PIPES<\/abbr> made all the difference.”<\/p>\n

To learn how PIPES<\/abbr> is expanding conservation opportunities rooted in ʻ\u014dlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, go to K\u016bkala N\u016bhou.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For 33 years, PIPES<\/abbr> has provided conservation opportunities for college students, and for one cohort, all in Hawaiian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":239181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[665,1675,33,1057,1622,14],"class_list":["post-239169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-conservation","tag-hale-kuamoo-hawaiian-language-center","tag-hawaiian","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-olelo-hawaii","tag-uh-hilo","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