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OUTREACH

March 2009

Outreach in the Schools

Curator/archivist Barbara Muffler spoke to a group of students at Pahoa High and Intermediate School on their third annual career day. Barbara's talk focused on science careers, providing insight into both undersea research and tsunamis from her experience. The talk was designed to be motivational as well as informative. Barbara was pleased to provide this outreach effort for this worthy cause and is available on a limited basis for such endeavors.

Outreach in the Community

Jim Wilson, Pacific Tsunami Museum Board President, gave a talk to the Rotary Club in April 2009. Jim gave a brief history of the museum and stated the museum's goals. The first museum board meeting was held on October 4, 1994, so the museum will soon be celebrating its 15th anniversary.

Jim mentioned that since its inception, the museum has actively collaborated with the International Tsunami Information Center, The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the University of Hawaii and other organizations dealing with earthquakes and tsunamis. As a result of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the museum has established museums in Thailand and in India through the efforts of Dr. Walter Dudley, UHH Oceanographer and Scientific Advisory Council Chairman for the museum.

A Blueprint for Coastal Communities

A document entitled "Tsunami Education: A Blueprint for Coastal Communities" was completed in January 2009. This guide was created as part of the tsunami eduction, preparation, and recovery project for downtown Hilo. Written by Kylie Alexandra, Genevieve Cain, and Patsy Iwasaki, this document was prepared on behalf of The Pacific Tsunami Museum and the County of Hawai’i Planning Department. Click here to download this document.

Preparing your business for the next tsunami

Civil Defense Administrator, Quince Mento (right), gave a talk on the importance of personal preparedness. Genevieve Cain, Tsunami Outreach Coordinator, on left.

If there is any place in Hawai'i that is prepared for the next tsunami, you would think it would be Hilo. Yet, when we asked the question to businesses in downtown Hilo, only a third said Hilo was prepared. With this information in hand, the Pacific Tsunami Museum embarked on a project with the County of Hawai'i Planning Department to assess and assist businesses with their tsunami preparation and planning. The result was one-on-one consultation, small group sessions, a Tsunami-Safe Fair in April, and the publication of a document entitled “How to Prepare Your Business for the Next Tsunami”.

There was tremendous community collaboration and support for the project. At the county level the Planning Dept., the Research and Development Dept., the Fire Dept. and the Hawai'i County Civil Defense were all major contributors. Community support came from the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association, the Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association and the Hilo Bay Watershed Advisory Group. All of this effort brought to fruition a major action of the Envision Downtown Hilo 2025 to develop and conduct a tsunami education, preparation and recovery program for both Pacific-wide and locally generated tsunamis.

Exhibitors and Presenters at Tsunami-Safe Fair

Visitor # since September 2006