Kahua A'o utilizes Hawaiian newspaper articles about Earth Science events written between 1843 and 1948 as a foundation for Earth Science education. In Hawai'i, a lack of qualified Earth Science teachers limits student awareness of Earth Science as a part of daily life, a potential career path, and a link to past events. This is particularly relevant to Native Hawaiians who are 28% of students in Hawai'i's public schools but are underrepresented in STEM courses, majors, and careers. Kahua A'o, a collaboration of the University of Hawai'i's College of Education, School of Hawaiian Knowledge, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and Windward Community College employs translations of Hawaiian newspaper articles as a culturally responsive way to connect highly descriptive writings to place and standards-based Earth Science curriculum development and teacher training that includes science materials and fieldtrips to familiar geologic features, e.g., the Honolulu Volcanic Series' Diamond Head, Punchbowl, Koko Crater, and Hanauma Bay. Articles provide insights about living on islands with limited resources exposed to natural hazards e.g., volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami, drought, and storms. Articles on Mauna Loa's 1859 eruption contributed to a recent report on channelized lava flows while others describe the land-based impact of storms recorded in shipping logs. As over 95% of 1.5 million pages of text are still in Hawaiian, the project will 1) increase historical, place-based resources for science teachers, scientists, and informal science educators and 2) convey the science underlying Hawaiian cultural practices. Earth science modules and articles will be disseminated through teacher education classes, workshops, symposia and the worldwide web for K12 teachers to utilize as lessons bringing Native Hawaiian voices and viewpoints into geoscience education.
