Pilina Kai Lipo: Connecting to the Deep Ocean
Take a Deep Dive Into the Ocean During Free Event
September 10-11, 2024 ~ 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. HST
Mokupāpapa Discovery Center - 76 Kamehameha Ave, Hilo, HI 96720
On September 10-11, the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center and NOAA Ocean Exploration will host Pilina Kai Lipo: Connecting to the Deep Ocean, an ocean-themed event at the center designed to engage the local community with the deep ocean by highlighting efforts to further our understanding of the waters of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
This free event will feature:
- "Learn to draw a deep-sea creature" through a series of short sessions taught by local artist Patrick Ching (from approximately 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.; free and open to all; no pre-registration required)
- “Learn to paint a deep-sea creature” classes through a series of approximately 45-minute instructions taught by Patrick Ching (starting at approximately 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m.; free but with limited attendance; pre-registration required - reserve tickets here )
- Educational activities and products, including deep-ocean animal coloring sheets designed by Patrick Ching, postcards, stickers, interactive poster displays, and more (all day)
- Opportunities to meet ocean explorers, to learn about their jobs, hear about what they’ve seen and done, and ask questions (all day)
- Videos and highlights from deep-ocean exploration in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (all day)
Illuminating Deep-Ocean Connections
The two-day event is an opportunity to highlight the value, importance, and connections to the deep ocean, in conjunction with the arrival of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to the Port of Hilo on September 7. The ship will have just completed a 20-day expedition to map deep waters near Johnston Atoll within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. This is one of six expeditions on Okeanos Explorer being led by NOAA Ocean Exploration to map deep waters of Hawaiʻi and Johnston Atoll. In June, July, and early August, the office conducted two mapping expeditions within Papahānaumokuākea and will conduct an additional expedition in the monument in October and November.
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer departs the NOAA Daniel K. Inouye Regional Center on Oahu’s Ford Island, marking the start of the Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea Mapping 1 expedition in June. Image courtesy of Jenny Crawford/NOAA. Download largest version (5.24 MB).
During the Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea Mapping 1 expedition, Native Hawaiian cultural liaisons, Malia Kapuaonālani Evans and Makoa Pascoe, were an important part of the expedition team, sharing and leading protocols and cultural practices while work was being completed in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Image courtesy of Lia Kim. Download largest version (3.20 MB).
The event name, “Pilina Kai Lipo: Connecting to the Deep Ocean,” was selected to highlight and celebrate the importance of Indigenous traditional knowledge in informing and enriching what is learned and experienced through science operations on the ship, and sharing this fact with the Hilo community. By weaving Western approaches to science with Indigenous knowledge systems in a two-way exchange, we can build a more holistic understanding of the areas being explored.
The waters in the Pacific Islands region span a diverse range of ecosystems and dynamic geological environments and are home to cultures with long histories of ocean voyaging and exploration. They contain some of the last relatively pristine marine ecosystems on the planet and harbor numerous protected species, as well as undiscovered shipwrecks and cultural landscapes sacred to the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific.
The biological, ecological, cultural, and geological significance of these areas has led to the designation of several marine protected areas, including Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
Despite the importance of these waters, they remain largely unexplored, particularly deep waters in the region. We can’t effectively manage or protect what we don’t understand. As we increasingly look to the deep ocean for the resources it holds and the services it can provide, more and better data are needed to help us make the right decisions to ensure the vitality of these ocean places.
A predatory sea star slowly works its way up a bamboo coral on an unnamed seamount in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Hohonu Moana 2016. Download largest version (916 KB).
This purple squat lobster with stalked barnacles attached to it was observed while conducting a remotely operated vehicle dive in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in 2016. Image courtesy of Lia Kim. Download largest version (242 KB).
Other Activities (By Invite)
Throughout the week, NOAA and partners will host a series of other activities to engage the local Hilo community with the deep ocean, a remote realm that remains largely removed from the everyday human experience, but is nonetheless intertwined with our marine resources and ways of life, with vast cultural significance.
Additional planned activities range from inviting members of the Keaukaha community to tour Okeanos Explorer and learn about and engage in work with Papahānaumokuākea to a panel discussion with NOAA ocean explorers and students at the University of Hawai‘i - Hilo and Hilo Community College and learning opportunities and ship tours for students and educators from local high schools and middle schools.
Rough seas within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Hohonu Moana 2016. Download largest version (2.50 MB).
Published August 22, 2024
Updated August 28, 2024