Oahu Science Series - Hawaii Nature Center

O‘ahu Environmental Science Series

O‘ahu Homeschool Science Series

2131 Makiki Heights Drive, HNL | 808.955.0100 x126 | Homeschool@HawaiiNatureCenter.og

Hawai‘i Nature Center offers an on-campus science series in which every class builds upon each experiential lesson. Created to bring together homeschool students, ages 6 to 11, the weekly 6-hour sessions on Wednesdays are live, in-person and teacher-led. It includes learning in the Makiki rainforest as well as field trips. Topics include: animal lifecycles, freshwater ecosystems, food webs, sound, electricity, colors in nature, invasive species, volcanism and more.

Download the Spring 2025 Course Outline

Fall 2025 Course Outline coming soon!

Fall 2025 O‘ahu Homeschool Science Series | For Ages 6 to 11

Registration opens June 16th!

September 3 – December 10, 2025 | Weekly on Wednesdays from 8:30 am (drop-off as early as 8:15 am) to 2:30 pm
Full Semester: $1,200 + fees (all 14 weekly classes) | Individual weekly classes are not available for purchase

No classes will be held on October 8 due to Fall Nature Adventure Camp.

Science, Sustainability, and Solutions: Exploration form Makiki Valley Across Oceania

Join the Science Series Hawai‘i Nature Center Homeschool program for the 2025 Fall semester cohort as we dive into learning and exploring our way from Hawai‘i to Oceania. We will weave through time and space to learn about the natural world, sustainability, and the modern issues facing these communities, all with a hope-filled, hands-on, and screen-free approach. Below is our outline of this 3-unit program where we’ll incorporate scientific method, data collection, and field trips into each unit with group projects, hiking, games, crafts, exploration time, and more!

Field trips do not include swimming in the water and will require families to meet at the field trip location due to limited access and funding for buses. Further information will be shared with families during and prior to the semester, including during the beginning of semester informational session, Week 1 of the program.

Registration opens June 16th!

If sold out, please contact Homeschool@HawaiiNatureCenter.org to be wait-listed for the series. Include the number of children you wish to enroll, their ages, and your best contact phone number.

Fall 2025 Lessons Overview

September 3 – Decmeber 10, 2025. No classes will be held October 8 due to Nature Adventure Camp.

September 3: Welcome to Makiki Valley

We start our semester by coming together and grounding ourselves in Makiki Valley by getting to know the spaces and places we’ll be learning from this fall. As we start to map our way throughout the nature center and the valley, we will begin building our cohort community and observation skills through movement-based games and exploration.

Unit 1: Oceanic Connections | September 10: Exploring Oceania and the "3 W’s" of Dispersal

Set sail into the vast Oceania as we explore what is encompassed in this massive area and how wind, waves, and wings have carried plants, animals, and people across island chains for millennia. This week, we dive into the connections that link faraway places to our home and classroom. As we continue to get to know each other and the nature center, we’ll introduce our unit project on scientific method and data collection with water quality testing at the stream.

September 17: Wild Wings of Oceania

Feathers, flight, and migration will shape our journey as we learn about birds such as the Albatross and others whose flights take them throughout Oceania. Join us as we learn how birds act as travelers, storytellers, and seed-spreaders across the sea.

September 24: Wayfinding

Chart a course through traditional Polynesian navigation and see how the stars, currents, winds, and seabirds guide voyagers. We’ll peek into how the long journeys across Oceania have shaped culture, community, and life across time.

October 1: Looking Out for the Small and Leafy Things: A Close-Up with Leafy Sea Dragons

We’re zooming in on the delicate and fantastical world of leafy sea dragons as we celebrate camouflage, biodiversity, and life in miniature. This week we appreciate the small and often overlooked parts of our world, especially in the ocean, that play a big role in healthy ecosystems.

Unit 2: Mālama ʻĀina | October 15: Sustainable Food Systems in Hawaiʻi – Past to Present

From ancient fishponds to modern farms, this week explores how the ʻĀina (land) nourished people through thoughtful, place-based food systems for thousands of years. Students will start uncovering how taking care of the land feeds both the body and the community. This week, we introduce our unit project around compost.

October 22: What’s a Loʻi?

We’ll introduce the world of loʻi kalo (taro patches), where traditional farming meets ecosystem stewardship. The group will learn how water, plants, and people work together in these living systems of aloha ʻāina. We may even get the chance to see our local loʻi kalo.

October 29: Compost at Full Circle Farms in Waimānalo

Our field trip this unit will take us to Full Circle Farms in beautiful Waimānalo to see how modern farming and large-scale composting happens right here on the island. This field trip may take place during Week 6 or 7 and may be to a different farm depending on availability.

November 5: Zero Waste

We’re thinking about the waste we create and how to reduce our impact and practice sustainable habits. It’s time to reflect on what we’ve learned about compost and sustainability, both in the past and present throughout this unit.

Unit 3: Contemporary Challenges | November 12: Climate Change – What, When, Where, Why, How

This big topic carries so much, so we’ll start this unit by unpacking what climate change, why it’s happening, what it looks like, and of course what we can do both as individuals and communities.

November 19: Sea Level Rise

Our knowledge of climate change will lead us as we learn how sea level rise is shaping how coasts, creatures, and communities are adapting to a changing world. This week connects real-world science with hopeful stories of resilience.

November 26: Ocean Acidification

Join us as we dive into another symptom of climate change: ocean acidification. Through hands-on investigations, they’ll explore how a shifting sea affects life along the coastlines and beneath the waves. This week takes us into our unit experiment on the impact of acidification on shells building creatures.

December 3: Invasive Species – Aquatic Species in Hawaiʻi and Beyond

Invasive species are a common topic on this island, but this time we’re focusing on what’s happening in the water. Our exploration takes us to the invasives threatening our nearshore habitats and the champions fighting these changes.

December 10: Hope for the Future – Final Week of the Semester

For the final week of the semester, we reflect, celebrate, and imagine a future filled with thriving ecosystems and hopeful, empowered stewards leading the way! This week wraps our journey with joy, gratitude, and a look ahead to the positive change we can all create. Join us at the end of our final day to celebrate and share memories of our new friends from the semester.

May 14: The Hawaiian Monk Seal and the Study of Conservation

We’ll finish out our semester together by learning more about what conservation is and how we can make a difference and help protect all the life we’ve learned about this semester.

May 7: Hinalea (Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse) and the Study of Symbiotic Relationships

Just like people, animals and even plants work together in many ways. What does symbiotic mean? Why do animals do this and what can we learn about working together?

Fall 2024 O‘ahu Homeschool Science Series | For Ages 6 to 11

This semester is sold out.

September 4 – December 11, 2024 | Weekly on Wednesdays from 8:30 am (drop-off as early as 8:15 am) to 2:30 pm
Full Semester: $1,200 (all 14 weekly classes) | Individual weekly classes are not available for purchase

No class will be held on October 9 due to Fall Nature Adventure Camp.

If sold out, please contact Homeschool@HawaiiNatureCenter.org to be wait-listed for the series. Include the number of children you wish to enroll, their ages, and your best contact phone number.

This semester is sold out.

Fall 2024 Lessons Overview

September 4 – December 11, 2024. No classes will be held on October 9 due to Nature Adventure Camp.

September 4: Practice devotion

Devotion to gratitude, mindfulness, and deepening connection with nature as students get to know each other and Makiki Valley.

September 11: Lichens & Island Formation

How are volcanoes formed? Are there different types of lava? What can live in volcanic environments? How are volcanic environments around the world alike and different?

September 18: Hawaiian Top Snails: Fossils in Hawai‘i

What is a fossil? How are they formed? Why are they important? Why doesn’t Hawai‘i have many fossils compared to the mainland? We’ll answer these questions and more in our adventures.

September 25: Yellow-Faced Bee: Hawai‘i’s Special Insects

What are native and endemic species? What is island biogeography? What do scientists do that specialize in this fascinating topic? Why are these little bees important, and what adaptations help them survive in an island ecosystem?

October 2: Sweet Potato: Polynesian Arrival to the Islands

What are canoe plants? How did they get to Hawai‘i? As we learn more about canoe plants, students gain knowledge about their significance to Hawaiian life and culture.

October 16: Wiliwili Tree: The State of our Watersheds

Where are our watersheds on this island? What exactly do they do? Why does it matter that we keep them healthy? What is the traditional land division of an ahupua‘a?

October 23: Importance of the ocean to Polynesians

Listen to Hawaiian legends about ocean species like the Humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a and marine ecosystems. What lessons and wisdom are being passed on through these stories?

October 30: Common Mynah: Urban Birds

How is urbanization affects wildlife? Where birds such as mynahs, pigeons, and zebra doves introduced from? Do creatures like these do well in the cities we build? What are some of the pros and cons of cities?

November 6: Banana: A Bunch of Travelers

How have bananas made their way to Hawai‘i and other parts of the globe? In what ways do people use this one special plant? We’ll explore this and more – and maybe even sample them.

November 13: ‘Auku‘u: Shrinking Wetlands

Today we study the plight of wetland birds. Why are wetlands such special habitats? Why should we protect them?

November 20: Humpback Whales and Migration

In what ways can we learn and be inspired by whales? What can they teach us from their migration patterns? What other creatures do we know that migrate? Why do they behave in this way?

November 27: Māmaki: Medicines from Nature

Where do the medicines we use come from? Why is Māmaki so important throughout Polynesia? What conservation efforts are happening to protect these medicinal sources?

December 4: Black-tipped Reef Shark: A Study of Microplastics

We’ll examine the life of plastics and what effects they have on the state of oceans worldwide, as well as how we can be better ocean stewards.

December 11: Hawaiian Island Ecosystems: Bringing it All Together

Celebrate the last day of the semester with island ecosystems that work relentlessly to support us. Using all we’ve learned, identify ways to move forward in the best way for our precious environment.

Gear Up & Get Ready

Eat a hearty breakfast.
Wear clothes and closed-toe (hiking or athletic) shoes that can get wet and dirty.
Put on mosquito repellent and sunscreen at home.
Leave anything expensive, valuable, or fragile at home.

What to Pack Daily

Small backpack
Water bottle
Morning snacks and a big lunch (no refrigeration)
Extra change of clothes, raincoat/poncho and water shoes
Sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses
Swimsuit and towel
COVID facemasks (optional)

REFUND & CANCELLATION POLICY – SEMESTER If enrollment is canceled 7 days or more prior to the program’s start, you will receive a refund less a $100 cancellation fee per child and associated administrative-processing fees. If enrollment is canceled within 7 days of the program’s start or up to 6 weeks after the program has begun, Hawai`i Nature Center will refund 50% of the program fee per child. HNC memberships purchased during enrollment will not be refunded. There are no refunds after the end of the sixth week of the program. No refunds or makeups for individual classes missed.

THIRD-PARTY REGISTRATION POLICY Hawai`i Nature Center does not accept third-party registration or registration on behalf of other friends or family. The registering child’s parent or guardian must be the individual to complete and submit all registration information. If we determine that a third party has completed your child’s registration, registration will be cancelled and we will refund your tuition. A $50 cancellation fee per child per week and administrative-processing fees will be charged.

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