[ SUNDAY TRAVEL ]

ONIZUKA CENTER The 4,000-square-foot facility includes a room devoted to the moon and planets, a section on the work of astronauts.

Onizuka center takes
space lore to
new heights

Exhibits and interactive fun
keep the dreams of Hawaii's
first astronaut alive

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By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Special to the Star-Bulletin

As children, we're taught to reach for the stars. Hawaii's first astronaut, Kona-born Ellison S. Onizuka, was doing just that 16 years ago, when he and six fellow crew members perished during the tragic 10th launching of the Challenger space shuttle.

Opened on July 19, 1991, the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center at the Big Island's Kona International Airport honors the vision and achievements of Onizuka and other heroes who have boldly ventured into space. Through numerous exhibits and hands-on activities, visitors learn what has been accomplished during man's 45 years of space exploration, and about the mysteries we have yet to unravel.

The State of Hawaii provided the land and paid for the construction of the facility. It also supports Nancy Tashima's position as curator and resource teacher. Tashima developed most of the museum's interactive table-top displays. She also conducts tours for school groups, and spearheads outreach projects such as the annual Astronaut Ellison Onizuka Science Day, held the last Saturday in January on the University of Hawaii-Hilo campus. Featuring a talk by a NASA astronaut, a variety of displays and more than two dozen workshops, this free daylong event is open to students in grades five through 12 and their families.

Kona Airport's window on space What: Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center Address: P.O. Box 833, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day Admission: $3 for adults, $1 for children age 12 and under Call: 808-329-3441 Web site: www.onizukaspacecenter.org

"From the time he was young, Ellison dreamed of becoming a pilot and an astronaut," Tashima says. "He attained both of these goals while inspiring children to study hard, especially in the area of science. Ellison often visited schools in Hawaii and across the mainland to talk with youngsters, always encouraging them to set high goals and do their best."

Tashima taught science for 22 years at Konawaena High School, Onizuka's alma mater. He frequently was a guest speaker in her classroom.

"The purpose of the Onizuka Space Center is to keep Ellison's dreams alive," Tashima said. "It offers them a fun, intriguing adventure in science."

THE 4,000-square-foot facility is divided into three main areas: a room that focuses on the moon and planets, a section that describes astronauts' work and experiments they've conducted, and an upstairs display that chronicles NASA's space shuttle program history. Unlike other museums, you're welcome to learn by doing here. Push buttons, pull levers, peer through microscopes and peruse more than 300 books on subjects that run the gamut from rockets and space flights to constellations and astronauts' biographies.

ONIZUKA CENTER A space shuttle exhibit.

Use a robotic arm to collect nuggets of minerals. Roll coins down a 5-foot-wide well that illustrates orbital motion. Step into a simulated Manned Maneuvering Unit, and manipulate hand controls in an effort to rendezvous with an object in space.

Other notable exhibits include "The Astronauts: Apollo to the Moon," which shows video footage from the missions that landed men on the moon; "Hawaii's Role in Space," illustrating how the islands have been involved in the U.S. space program through locally based tracking stations, astronomical observatories and astronaut training programs; and "Living in Space," an interactive audiovisual computer exhibit that explains how space voyagers live and work aboard the orbiter.

A 45-seat theater screens videos throughout the day on topics such as Onizuka's life, current NASA satellites and the International Space Station, a partnership among 16 nations to construct and operate an orbiting laboratory in space.

Don't miss the scale model of Mir, Russia's orbiting space station; a set of meteorites, including a rare sample from Mars; a 6-ounce moon rock that was part of a 1.6-pound specimen collected during Apollo 17's 1972 expedition; and the spacesuit worn by Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise in 1970. Tashima points out, "We made six landings on the moon. We would've made seven, but, as you know, Apollo 13 was not able to complete its mission." Apollo 13's dramatic story was brought to the silver screen in the 1995 blockbuster of the same name.

Of special interest, in Tashima's opinion, is a glass case containing personal belongings of Onizuka that date back to his boyhood years. His Explorer Scout uniform is displayed, along with his merit badges, Eagle Scout pin, 4-H awards and a few of his high-school compositions. There are also items from his first NASA mission, aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1985, including his flight suit and packets of macadamia nuts and Kona coffee.

CHERYL CHEE TSUTSUMI / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN Stephen Bond recently demonstrated a device that puts a magnetic wheel in motion on a circular track, simulating planets revolving around the sun. He is part of Marion Buscher's fifth-grade class at St. Joseph's School in Hilo.

Particularly poignant is a University of Hawaii medallion that Onizuka carried with him on the ill-fated 1986 mission. It was later retrieved from the crew cabin of the Challenger and returned to the school, which, in turn, gave it to the center.

Exhibits have been added over the years as funds have been raised and ideas have been generated. "Our staff has come up with some of the ideas," says Tashima. "We have six part-time employees (Shirley Matsuoka, Onizuka's eldest sister, works two days a week). They greet visitors, sell admission tickets, run the gift shop and keep the exhibits working. Ellison's family also has been very supportive. Operating the center has been a real team effort."

Tashima puts in a full day daily except Saturday but shrugs off the long hours. "When you love something so much, it doesn't seem like a job," she says.

This excerpt from the commencement address Onizuka gave to Konawaena High School seniors in 1980 always inspires her to go the extra mile: "Your vision is not limited to what your eye can see, but what your mind can imagine. ... Think of the new horizons you can explore. From your vantage point, your education and imagination will carry you to places which we won't believe possible. Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried."

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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer.