ʻImiloa Astronomy Center welcomes international diplomats, shares knowledge and aloha
The visit was part of Department of Defense program intended for U.S. to showcase unique resources on an international scale and trigger reciprocity across nations.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
A large group of international diplomats visited ʻImiloa Astronomy Center yesterday, welcomed to the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo educational facility by Chancellor Bonnie Irwin, UH Regent Mike Miyahara, and Director of UH Institute for Astronomy (IfA) Doug Simons.
“I was honored to welcome the delegation to our campus and tell them a little about Hilo and the Hilo lei they were given by our ʻImiloa staff,” says Chancellor Irwin. “It is always a delight to have international guests on our campus to see firsthand what a wonderful place this is to live and learn.”
The visitors were greeted by ʻImiloa staff with oli and lei followed by a tour of the center’s Polynesian wayfinding exhibits, star compass, and legacy of Polynesian voyaging.
The visit is part of an annual event organized by the Defense Foreign Liaison Branch within the U.S. Department of Defense intended for the U.S. to showcase unique resources and capabilities on an international scale and trigger reciprocity across nations.
IfA was approached earlier this year about helping organize a tour of astronomy facilities on Hawaiʻi Island for the group.
“Last year this group of embassy diplomats who also serve as military attachés for their countries visited one of NASA’s facilities on the continent and evidently during that event the Maunakea observatories, and Hawaiʻi in general, were identified as their preferred 2026 destination,” says Simons.
The Hawaiʻi visit lasts eleven days, with most of the time spent visiting various sites on Oʻahu and the last three days spent on Hawaiʻi Island. While on Hawaiʻi Island, about 50 of the group visited ʻImiloa, and about 40 concurrently visited Hale Pōhaku and several observatories atop Maunakea.
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Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
