By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer
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A black-lit tunnel in the Bishop Museum's new Science Adventure Center will not only teach visitors about the kumulipo, it also will demonstrate how students interpret the Hawaiian creation chant.
Students have been gathering since Friday to decorate the 160-foot Hawaiian Origins Tunnel with artwork they created last school year, affixing fluorescent fauna and flora to the walls and creating a native environment.
The tunnel is part of the $17 million center scheduled to open in November. As visitors walk through it, they will hear chanting from the kumulipo as they see how students visualize the legends about the creation of the Hawaiian Islands and its ocean life and forests.
On Tuesday, students from Jarrett Middle School were on duty. Dole Middle School, Hakipu'u Learning Center, Halau Lokahi and 'Aiea Intermediate also participated in the project, which was coordinated by Perdita Ross, a Florida-based artist who did another installation at Bishop Museum when she lived in Hawai'i 12 years ago.
But these will not be the only students who will contribute to the tunnel, which is meant to be a continually evolving installation, said Kunane Wooten, who prepares exhibits for the museum.
Involving students in hands-on projects is important to the museum. This particular project enables teachers to inject some culture into the students' art assignments and gives students a sense of ownership in the exhibit.
"They can actually come down here and say, 'I designed that,' " Wooten said. "It gives them the sense that they belong to something much larger."
About 75 art students from Jarrett contributed to the tunnel, although not all of them were able to help with the installation. Art teacher Linda Oszajca said the project gave public-school students something they don't normally get to experience.
"It was the opportunity for them to do something real, something that will be right out there in the public," she said.
Said Anya Sangchan, 14: "It was really fun knowing that you're doing something and people are going to see it."
Shasta Yamada, also 14, is not an art student, but came to help with the installation with her mother, who is Jarrett's Parent Community Networking Center coordinator. For Yamada, hanging the artwork and painting the walls was a fun way to spend some of her vacation.
"I can hang out with my friends and help out and have fun all at the same time," she said.
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.
