Opportunties
Do you want to get more involved? Have you ever wanted to see how astronomers use a live telescope to observe the universe? You now have the rare opportunity to see how this is done right here in Hawai‘i.
Invitation to Mentees
Part of OKH's mission is to assist keiki and students of all ages to achieve their astronomy and space learning and career goals. Anyone and everyone is eligible. If you are interested in working with our mentors to meet professionals in the astronomy and space sectors, or to help map out an academic path that will land you a dream job, please click on the button bellow and fill out the form below to get started.
Classroom Presentations
OKH is excited to offer our Hawai‘i educators—and educators around the world—the opportunity to hear directly from our mentors. Learn how they achieved their goals in the fields of astronomy and space, and find out what excites them most!
Educator Focus Group
OKH was recently awarded a STEM Action Grant from the Society for Science to run a focus group of teachers. The topic? What they wish to see in a presentation to their students from our mentors who will teach them about the fields of astronomy and space, and how we can inspire them to pursue STEM careers.
If you are interested in participating, please fill out the interest form below. All participating teachers selected for the focus group will receive a stipend for their time!
Invitation to Future Mentors
OKH is on the search for professionals in the fields of astronomy and space, especially from our Native Hawaiian communities, who would like to present to students in Hawai‘i and beyond (as the opportunities present themselves) about astronomy and space sciences and careers. We hope to plant the seed of interest in the stars within our youngest youths, and inspire our oldest to pursue degrees and careers in the astronomy and space fields.
If you are interested please email us a OhanaKiloHoku@gmail.com. OKH will be seeking additional grants to provide stipends to all our mentors!
Offer to Educators
If you are a teacher or professor interested in having our mentors provide a presentation to your students, or you just want to provide us some ideas on what kind of presentations would be great to see, please fill our our interest form below.
Aloha Educators,
OKH has teamed up with Hawaii Space Flight Lab (HSFL) to promote an educational platform in the form of a 1U (10cm squared) low-cost cubesat kit (hardware, software, and educational materials) to Middle and High School students in Hawaii with no formal aerospace program at their institution do aerospace research.
Through this grant, HSFL’s team will provide participating teachers a hardware kit and a basic electronics lab kit to test your spacecraft. Educators will be required to participate in an online UH course to provide you with technical knowledge and assistance incorporating the kit into your curriculum at no cost to you. Building off the scholastic robotics and science fair platforms, HSFL will host a design challenge for your students where they develop a mission concept around Earth Observation, and test out their ideas using the Artemis CubeSat kit. HSFL will then host an online symposium in April 2022 where your students can present their mission concept, designs/modifications to the kit, testing procedures, and results to engineers from around the state.
You can find out more here: https://www.hsfl.hawaii.edu/project-poke/
If you are interested in signing up, please fill out the interest form below!
-
Introduction Level: We Are Stardust
We Are Stardust is a collaboration between Professor Annette Lee’s Native Skywatchers initiative and the UCSC team’s Starry, Starry Night (S2N) initiative. The S2N initiative is one of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic; it leverages an adaptation whereby astronomers are now able to remotely control modern telescopes that are located on distant mountain tops without leaving the confines of home. Following the principles of Two-Eyed Seeing, the We Are Stardust collaborative initiative trains elementary, middle, and high school students to combine Indigenous knowledge about the night sky with Western knowledge about the same.
Timing: The Spring 2021 cohorts of We Are Stardust are wrapping up their projects. The Summer cohorts of students and educators have been finalized and they have just started their work. Ohana Kilo Hōkū students will be have the opportunity to participate in the fall.
-
Python and Research
Python and Research (PyaR) is a free online Python computer programming tutorial that is embedded within an astrophysics scientific journal article. The tutorial includes 6 hours of mentoring. Students from many levels (middle school, high school, college, university) and working professionals have participated in past PyaR offerings. Participants have the option of attending the mentoring sessions in real time or asynchronously at any time with the guidance of recordings of many past mentoring sessions. Here is the PyaR registration form.
Timing: The 2021B offering of PyaR will consist of two 3-hour sessions on June 8 and 9 from 9 AM –12 noon PDT while the 2021C offering will be conducted over three days: July 29–31 from 6–8 AM PDT. Registration and Schedules are here.
-
Science Internship Program
Science Internship Program (SIP) at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) is a 10-week summer program that engages bright motivated high school students in critical thinking in the context of open ended real world STEM research projects under the close mentorship of world experts. Students can apply to work in one of nearly 20 subject areas across the physical and biological sciences, engineering, social sciences, art, and humanities. SIP is a fee-based program, but need-based scholarships and stipends are available. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 editions of SIP were/are being conducted 100% online.
Timing: The 2021 SIP roster has just been finalized. The application portal for SIP 2022 will open in early March 2022.
Shadow an Astronomer
OKH is working on arranging future Zoom calls where students and members of the public may watch astronomers run live experiments using Hawaii observatories. If you are interested in participating, please sign up for our Shadow an Astronomer email list below.
More Astronomy and Space Opportunities
https://www.pathwaystoscience.org/Undergrads.aspx
Programs and professional development resources for current and prospective undergraduate students -- research experiences for undergraduates (REU), scholarships, and travel and research opportunities.
https://www.akamaihawaii.org/resources-2/akamai-project-examples/
Akamai interns are placed with a specific mentor and project upon acceptance to the program. Applicants are asked to identify past projects that align with their interests, which helps the selection committee make matches between applicants and mentors. Examples of projects, by major or field of study are below.
https://aas.org/careers/internships-summer-jobs
American Astronomical Society internships & Summer Jobs list
https://www.fisk-vanderbilt-bridge.org/program
The Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-PhD Bridge Program exists to improve the demographic representation in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Studies indicate that underrepresented minority (URM) students are more likely to use a Master’s degree as a stepping stone to the PhD. Hence, to increase the number of URM students engaged in PhD-level STEM research, a relationship between Fisk University, which is an accredited Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and Vanderbilt University was conceived.
https://www.pathwaystoscience.org/Grad.aspx
Programs and resources for prospective and current STEM graduate students -- including funding opportunities and professional development programs and resources.
https://physics.osu.edu/masters-phd-bridge-program
The MS to PhD Bridge program at OSU strives to enhance the diversity of qualified applicants to physics PhD programs. The Bridge program is a two year program for students with a bachelors degree in Physics, or a closely related field, who are motivated to pursue a PhD, but require additional course work, training, and research experience to excel in a PhD program.