Grades 9-12 Category

Judges: James K. Pihana (native Hawaiian cultural practitioner) and
Shawn Laatsch (planetarium manager at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i)


1st place: Brittany Cole (Kea‘au High School, grade 12)




Judge's Comments:

Beautiful silhouette art work of a kane (man) and wahine (woman) honoring Mauna Kea. Excellent use of imagery! (James K. Pihana)

Wonderful use of cultural elements! Shows Hula and Conch shell with respect for Maunakea. The design is similar to a woodcut or silhouette, but has a modern look. This brings science and cultural together! (Shawn Laatsch)



2nd place: Jesse Graf (Kea‘au High School, grade 12)




Judge's Comments:

This design places the observatory at the wekiu (summit) and lower plateau from the thirteen-thousand elevation facing Hilo. Very unique design! (James K. Pihana)

An interesting visualization of the summit combined with the Milky Way / starry pattern made this one really jump out as a top consideration. It has great detail and style! (Shawn Laatsch)



3rd place: Trenton Jardine (Kea‘au High School, grade 12)




Judge's Comments:

This design shows the observatory in a very determined mode to work on discovery of the stars and deep space of our Universe. Very nice representation of Gemini Observatory! (James K. Pihana)

Simple, clean and elegant design! It has good detail of the Gemini Telescope structure with simple lines that would work well on a coin. (Shawn Laatsch)




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