On Saturday, October 13th, 2012, the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources (CTAHR), in collaboration with isisHawaii, hosted its first “Aquaponics in the Classroom” Conference.

Dr. Clyde Tamaru (conference organizer) welcomed attendees followed by an opening address by Dean Maria Gallo (CTAHR).

The featured activity was an interactive session facilitated by Design Thinking Hawaii members and coaches, Inovi Technologies and isisHawaii. The purpose of this activity was to bring industry, community, higher ed, K-12 educators/administrators, parents and students together to brainstorm ideas on ways to strengthen the science pipeline. What resulted was an action-packed, fun-filled morning with lots of valuable ideas, new partnerships, revelations and ‘aha’ moments.

Following the lunch break, presentations by K-12 schools, industry members and researchers filled the rest of the afternoon. Plans for an annual event are currently being discussed.