Tanabata block party at Gemini North

On Saturday 17 August the Gemini North team joined with the other Maunakea Observatories in hosting the Tanabata Block Party 2024! During this event the road of North Aʻohōkū Place was blocked off just after the entrance to the Gemini North Hilo Base Facility parking lot and activity booths for the various Maunakea Observatories and science organizations were set up on the street along with food trucks. Cultural demonstrations relating to the Japanese legend of Tanabata were held at the Subaru Telescope courtyard. 

At Gemini's base facility staff members, Anniek Gloudemans, Clara Martinez-Vazquez, Garima Singh, and Pablo Martin assisted keiki and families as they created their own astronomy buttons and origami astro-cubes, and discovered which stars will be going supernova on a sky chart. Concurrently, short tours were offered to guests by Peter Michaud and Xiaoyu Zhang who guided guests inside the lobby and Gemini North control room, allowing the public a unique perspective on the process of astronomical observations. As the sky got dark the team prepared for stargazing as Teo Mocnik set up the outreach telescope. Over the course of the five-hour event around 200 people visited the control room and around 600 people participated in the event overall. We are looking forward to the opportunity to host similar events in the future. 

Mahalo nui loa to Andy Adamson, Christy Cunningham, Kevin McLaughlin, Emily Peavy, and all Maunakea Observatory staff & volunteers who helped make the event possible!