The two-week residential program has been offered at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo since 1989 and at the Manoa campus since 1994. The kids study their culture in the mornings and evenings, and spend their days studying anything from medicine to Polynesian navigation techniques. Students like Hokule'a and Pleiades, who attended the Institute a previous summer, can return for the more advanced Kupulau Summer Institute. Of the 1,100 applicants for the 1998 programs, only 100 were admitted to the Summer Institute, which ran July 12-25, and 120 to Kupulau, which ran July 27 through Aug. 7. Selection is based on application essays and recommendations, not on grade point averages or test scores.
Children come from across the United States to attend, though most are from the Islands.
Students choose a course of study for their two weeks. The long list of topics includes filmmaking, architecture, environmental science, marine science, performance art, astronomy and medicine. The purpose of the program is to encourage Hawaiian children to pursue higher education or a career. It also encourages the kids to understand and better appreciate their Native Hawaiian heritage. We want to plant the seed early.