Flying high, diving deep at Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery
Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery 2025 attendees
At the 24th annual Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery, students, families, and community members enjoyed the free STEM event with activities and workshops highlighting space exploration, Earth science, biology, oceanography, rocketry, robotics coding, and hands-on educational activities. On October 19, Hawaiʻi Space Grant Consortium (HSGC) hosted the event in partnership with Hawaiian Electric and University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Institute for Astronomy.
“This event is all about inspiring Hawai‘i’s students to dream big—just like Lacy did,” said Adria Fung, event coordinator and robotics education specialist with the HSGC in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. “He grew up right here in Honolulu, had a huge dream, and quite literally chased the stars. We want our students to see that even if their dreams feel far away, they can reach them by staying curious and never being afraid to explore. Lacy Veach Day celebrates discovery and the spirit of lifelong learning.”
This year’s Lacy Veach Day featured 36 hands-on activities and displays led by over 30 incredible organizations including student groups from UH, various community organizations, and industry professionals. They featured hands-on learning in the fields of robotics, fossils, marine biology, rocketry, Hawaiian voyaging, cube satellites, architecture, pilot simulation, microscopes, and more. Workshops offered opportunities to learn about indoor drones, robotics, telescopes, hybrid cars, and meteorites.
Partnerships propel the event
“Hawaiian Electric has enjoyed developing hands-on projects for the Lacy Veach participants since the very first event, 24 years ago,” said Sam Nichols, senior planner, community affairs at Hawaiian Electric. “We have always tried to teach the children about current issues related to the electric industry at that time. Together we have built solar cars, wind turbines, motors powered by water flow, created batteries, generators and more. We have been the signature sponsor of Veach Day because we believe that lighting a spark in the children’s STEM imagination could bring future, quality employees to our company and the islands.”
“This was Aiea Intermediate School robotics team’s first Lacy Veach Day and the students had a real blast,” said Pete Miller, Robotics Coach at Aiea Intermediate School. “We brought several robots for the public to play around with in the robotics arena, getting coaching from our team members as needed, plus my students were able to visit the other exhibits — the most popular were the planetarium, the drone display and several of the UH engineering and science exhibits.”
Veach Day also provides a unique opportunity for pre-service teachers to not only teach and engage students in the field of science, but also learn from other organizations about how they bring STEM to life, and build connections that might one day show up in their own classrooms.
“It’s a full-circle moment, future teachers inspiring young learners, while continuing to grow and be inspired themselves,” said Fung.
“Volunteering at Lacy Veach Day was a valuable and rewarding experience for pre-service teachers in our teacher preparation program,” said Stacy George, faculty member at the School of Teacher Education at UH Mānoa College of Education. “It provided my students with a rare opportunity to engage in community outreach, network with science organizations, interact with families, and even develop their own interest in science. This experience allowed them to have fun while engaging with families and witnessing the impact they had on inspiring curiosity about science among children and their families.”
Mobile planetarium shows by Bishop Museum and the UH Institute for Astronomy were offered throughout the day, along with special guests like a robot dog “Poi Dog” from the UH Manoaʻs College of Engineering and Star Wars characters from the Pacific Outpost of the 501st Legion, the nonprofit Hawaiʻi Chapter of the Lucasfilm’s preferred Star Wars Imperial costuming group.
The Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery honors the life and legacy of the late Charles Lacy Veach, who grew up in Honolulu with an interest in science and exploration, had a distinguished career as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and went on to fly two Space Shuttle missions. Created and organized by the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium, the free event is made possible through a grant from Hawaiian Electric, which has sponsored the event since its inception in 2001.