Maui School Teachers 2024

Hawai'i Nature Center School Programs

Since 1992, the Hawai’i Nature Center (HNC) has brought outdoor science education to the Maui community through it’s school programs. HNC partners with schools to teach NGSS aligned programs designed to complement current classroom instruction.

HNC is excited to relaunch our school programs as a mobile model--connecting students to past natural resource locations as well as new locations across the island. This will provide students the opportunity to visit different sites while also making our programs more geographically accessible to schools.

We greatly value your feedback as we design the school program and prepare to relaunch in 2025.
1.Your position(Required.)
2.Your name
3.Your email(Required.)
4.Your phone
5.Your school(Required.)
6.School's zip code(Required.)
7.Grade you work with (select all that apply)(Required.)
8.Number of students in your grade(Required.)
9.Number of classes in your grade(Required.)
10.Have you or your school participated in HNC school programs in the past?
11.Would you be interested in HNC field programs for your students?(Required.)
Historically, our programs consisted of a 3-4 hour field trip. We plan to reimplement this model in which your class will meet our educators at field locations (i.e. Keālia Pond NWR). With this in mind:
12.Are there any field trip transportation barriers that you would like us to be aware of?
Traditionally, our NGSS aligned school programs have covered the following topics.
  • Pre-K and Kindergarten: Intro to Nature Experience a sensory exploration of living and non-living parts of the natural world while learning to appreciate and care for nature (K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3)
  • 1st grade: Intro to Plants, Animals and Healthy Habitats Explore different habitats with an emphasis on survival needs, food chains, and stream life (1-LS3-1 ).
  • 2nd grade: Cycles of Nature Examine the importance of the plant, animal, nutrient, gas, and water cycles. Discover how cycles are interconnected and how humans are a part of these cycles (2-LS2-1, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 2-ESS2-3).
  • 3rd grade: Discovering Wetlands Learn about wetlands and how adaptation, inherited traits, and life cycles play key roles in this ecosystem. Discover the threats to endangered Hawaiian wetland birds and how conservation efforts are enabling their survival (3-LS1-1, 3-LS2-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-3, 3-ESS2-1, 3-ESS3-1).
  • 4th, 5th, 6th grades: Forest Encounters or Oceanic Connections
  • Forest Encounters: Learn about geological, biological, and human-caused changes and their local and global effects. Investigate the importance of watersheds and suggest ways for creating a better future for Hawaiʻi (4-ESS2-1).
  • Oceanic Connections: Explore the anatomy and life cycles of corals and their role in the ecosystem. Students become teachers on topics of native plants, coastal ecology, and invasive species. Learn about sources of marine debris and participate in a beach clean-up.
13.Do you have any feedback on this curriculum?
14.Select sites you are interested in. Examples of programs and grades are given, but you may select any sites of interest.
15.Are you interested in our educators doing a pre-field trip classroom lesson at your school to introduce the topic? Or a virtual introduction?(Required.)
16.If we had the capacity for an afterschool program, do you see a need for this at your school?
17.Do you have any other comments or questions for us as we design our mobile school programs?