Hokulani Imaginarium is a wonderful teaching facility-

not just for the hard sciences of  Astronomy, Aeronautics, Atmospherics and Astronautics but for other core subject areas as well.  

The Imaginarium full-dome shows run the gamut of life science, history, cultural diversity, geography, theater, art and even literature and story-telling. Some of our shows are also offered in foreign languages: Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French and German. Below is a list of our Imaginarium shows that treat these core subject areas. 
 
Cultural diversity – Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky,                                       Dream to Fly, Ancient Skies, Tales of the Maya Skies, Stars of the Pharaohs and Season of Light
 
History  - Dream to Fly, Ancient Skies, Tales of the Maya Skies, Dawn of the Space Age, Stars of the Pharaohs and Flying Monsters              
 
Theater/Art - Dream to Fly
 
Story-telling - Dream to Fly, Cowboy Astronomer, Tales of the Maya Skies, and Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky
 
Life Sciences - Origins of Life, Astronaut, Flying Monsters
 
Geography - Ancient Skies, Tales of the Maya Skies, Flying Monsters, and Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky
 
Astronomy - Stars, Astronaut, Dawn of the Space Age, Back to the Moon for Good, Cowboy Astronomer, Tales of the Maya Skies, Ancient Skies, Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky, Stars of the Pharaohs,Two Small Pieces of Glass, Voyages of the Starship Discovery (interactive)
 
Japanese language shows - Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky, and Back To The Moon

Spanish language shows - Cosmic Rays, Tales of the Maya Skies, and Back To The Moon

Korean language shows - Secrets of the Dragon, and Back To The Moon

Chinese, French and German language shows - Back To The Moon
 
Please visit our website http://aerospace.wcc.hawaii.edu/imaginarium.html where you can review the summaries of the shows to further determine their suitability for your curriculum goals.
 
If you are a K-12 teacher who would like to arrange a field trip with your class to the Imaginarium, a “Group Visit Form” is available on line at the above website.You may also email: krissiekellogg@yahoo.com or phone at 808-235-7321.

If you are a WCC professor/lecturer and would like to schedule class time at the Imaginarium, you may also email: krissiekellogg@yahoo.com or phone at 808-235-7321.

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Have you ever seen a Moonbow?

Moonbows are lunar rainbows. They are similar to rainbows, but they are created by moonlight instead of direct sunlight. Moonbows are a rare natural atmospheric phenomena that occur when the Moon's light is reflected and refracted off water droplets in the air. 

The moon can create rainbows if the light reflected is bright enough and there's sufficient moisture in the right spot in our atmosphere. Our moon must be nearly full in order to provide enough light for moonbows to form. Of course, even when full,  our moon doesn't provide nearly as much light as the sun.

The light that is sent from the moon toward our atmosphere  bounces, through droplets of moisture. This light is separated at different angles in the water droplets, like a prism into multiple colors, where warmer colors like red and orange correspond to longer wave lengths and cooler colors such as blue and purple correspond to shorter ones.

Beside having a full Moon, the sky must be very dark and the Moon must be very low in the sky, less than 42º above the horizon. According to Live Science, if you stick your fist out to arm's length, it's about 10 degrees in height.  In other words, the moon must be within four fist-heights of the horizon in order to see a moonbow. 

Finally, a source of water droplets, such as rain or mist from a waterfall, lake or the ocean must be present in the opposite direction of the Moon. Given all of these necessary conditions, it's no surprise that moonbows aren't very common.

Although moonbows are rare, they do tend to happen more frequently in certain locations. These locations usually have water sources, especially waterfalls that generate layers of mist in the air. The moonbows created near waterfalls are often called spray moonbows. If you hope to get a glimpse of a spray moonbow, some of the best locations include: Yosemite National Park in California, Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Kentucky, Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa, Waimea in Hawaii, and Plitvice Lakes in Croatia.


Moonbow in Kamuela, Hawaii by Ethan Tweedie

Moonbow at Makapu'u on Oahu by Ron Currens

 

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