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Merriman's
45 reviews
Kamuela, HI
Category: Hawaiian
Onizuka Center - Mauna Kea Visitor's Center
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Category: Landmarks & Historical Buildings [Edit]
Mauna Kea Observatory Access RdKamuela, HI 96743
(808) 961-2180
6 reviews for Onizuka Center - Mauna Kea Visitor's Center
I can't emphasize enough how great a job the dedicated volunteers do running this attraction. They really love astronomy and thoroughly enjoy sharing that passion with visitors. It made for a very special evening. Don't miss it when you're on the big island.
If you're a geek like me it's a no brainer: You get a spectacular view of the night sky, the opportunity to interact with fellow geeks, and a bunch of frickin' lasers!
The lasers are used by the volunteers to help point out features in the sky, but they are more powerful than any laser pointer I've ever seen. It was fun listening to the banter as the volunteers have apparently been one-upping each other trying to find more powerful handheld laser devices.
Once the sun goes down the volunteers take out some fairly high-end telescopes and take visitors on a tour of the galactic neighborhood. On the night we visited Jupiter was front and center. We were able to see four moons and some of the banding of clouds on our large celestial neighbor. They also take requests, so come ready with a list of your favorite galaxies or planets.
Even better was what can be seen with just your eyes. The lack of light pollution means the milky way is fully visible arcing across the sky along with more stars than you've ever seen before. Satellites and even space junk were plainly visible without the need for special optics. We even saw a spectacular shooting star.
It's a little chilly up there so bring some warm clothes. They have very tasty hot chocolate available for a buck or two. The gift shop also has a full inventory of snacks, including space ice cream in a number of flavors.
Surprisingly my iPhone worked up there, but as my wife pointed out you can't have a bunch of geeks living in a place without 3G coverage. Point taken.
There's so much more I can say but you definitely should plan to end one of your evenings on this beautiful island gazing at the stars. There's simply no better place on earth to do it!
It's simple: Do *not* miss it. The sky, both sunset and night, looks so beautiful from there! They have a pretty cool documentary running while you wait for nightfall and give a really accessible sky tour.
Bring your jeans and polar fleece! It was around 40 degrees up there...yes, in July.
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Beautiful views at sunset, well-stocked gift shop with snacks, and a pretty drive make Mauna Kea pleasant. The telescopes brought out by friendly and informative docents guiding star gazing after dark really took this experience over the top. There were several telescopes so lines were not long, and some of the views were really great.
It was, however, incredibly cold, much colder than I was prepared for. So bring a warm jacket or be prepared to come down the mountain with a new fleece reminder of your wonderful trip to Mauna Kea... and $85 poorer.
amazing Star Action up there, and the night we were there, it was 'music night' and volunteers, including myself, were asked to play acoustic guitar and sing any songs we want. After peering thru a couple 6" refractors at some great clusters & nebulae, as well as some 10" Dobs and 2 16" scopes, I performed Ziggy Stardust (Bowie) and Cant You See (Marshall Tucker).
If you visit Big Island, you MUST see the Stars up at Mauna Kea. No twinkling or blinking, every star is crisp and planets rounded. DO GO. - thebassguy
I absolutely loved my time on the Big Island. From the food, to the people I met, down to the very culture of the Islands. But our trip to the Onizuka Center, and the ensuing convoy up the summit, was the highlight of it all.
So here's the deal. There's a half dozen companies that offer tours to the summit of Mauna Kea. But having spoken to some locals, and the visitor center themselves, they whole HEARTEDLY recommended doing it yourself. The Visitor Center offers guided tours to the summit at 2:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays. You MUST be there an hour beforehand to see how you feel at higher elevation, kids under 16 are not allowed up, and if you've dived within the past 24 hours, it's a no go too. You MUST have a four wheel drive, and at LEAST a half tank of gas.
But this tour does something the organized ones don't - once at the summit, we got to pop in to a few of the observatories, and had a full tour of the NASA IR Telescope. The views are just amazing, above the vog and the crud, and there's a strong sense of history and spirituality up there, especially on seeing the altar at the summit cinder cone.
At the end of said tour, you have the option of staying on the summit for the sunset, or trucking down with the convoy. Well, the gravel road, as hairy as it was (not so much the drive, but the whole "veer off the road and you're screwed" thing) we came down with the masses. The sunset from atop a cinder cone we hiked up was breathtaking, even if it was some 5,000 feet lower.
And then came the stargazing.
Y'see, the volunteers at the visitor's center sets up telescopes in the parking lot, where guided tours of the night sky are given as soon as that sun's down. And, oh. My. God. In one square inch of sky, I saw more stars than you can in an entire night back home. The volunteers were amazingly patient and helpful with beginners, and excited to share with more knowledgeable folks. Hot chocolate is available and welcome inside the visitor center at a buck a cup. (Or bring your own packets from down the mountain, if you want to be cheap!)
All in all, an amazing experience that brings home your place in the universe and in history. GREAT people make one of the world's most amazing natural areas even better. And all of this was FREE, compared to the $200 per person the organized tours charged. Just make sure you stuff a couple of twenties in their donation box inside - they sure as hell deserved it!
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The Best Light Show on the Island - maybe the entire Planet ( tied w/ the Kalapana Active Lava Flow, of course )
The Mauna Kea Visitor's Center sits up at 9200 feet, allowing access to the best Universe gazing around - I say Universe b/c we saw not only Stars, but other Planets, Galaxies & Nebulae
Take the infamous Route 200 - aka Saddle Road / worst public road on the Island ( shhhhh - don't tell our Rental Car company! ) up & up & up the hill......through the cloud layer & rain.....inching our way up the mountain, wondering if this is even worth it when BOOM, there are no clouds, the road is visible & you're looking at a sky filled w/ billions & billions of twinkly lights
The volunteers at the Visitor Center are there every night until 10 PM & we could tell they really love their jobs - one of our Star Guides played his guitar & told us he couldn't help himself b/c this place was so inspirational & it's SO TRUE
We sat in the center, watching a video on the Observatory & how it came to be & how Mauna Kea was the perfect location, all about Space & some great definitions of the wondrous things we were about to see.....all this while the Star Guides were setting up their telescopes to show us:
Saturn w/ its RINGS & MOONS - Clearly Visible!!
Jupiter w/ its Moons
Mars
Keyhole Nebula
Ring Nebula
Whirlpool Galaxy
Sombrero Galaxy
Antares
Southern Cross
Virgo
Big Dipper / North Star
Sagittarius
Scorpio
Many, many other things too! And all I can say is ........ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!
Oh, and bring layers! Temp at the condo = 77; Temp at the Visitor's Center = 44 & windy as all get out....nuff said
Best tip - Drive there yourself & if you get a car, make sure it's a 4X4 so you can make it up to the Summit - which we could not ( boo! ), spend as much time as possible & ENJOY!
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