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Social studies activity

Hawaii's Story: Volcanoes, Kings & Aloha Spirit

Did you know Hawaii is still growing? A volcano called Kīlauea has erupted many times over the last 40 years — sometimes for years at a stretch — adding brand new land to the island. Let's make a volcano and watch new land being born!

Hands OnAbout 25 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Did you know Hawaii is still growing? A volcano called Kīlauea has erupted many times over the last 40 years — sometimes for years at a stretch — adding brand new land to the island. Let's make a volcano and watch new land being born!

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a picture of lava flowing into the ocean together. Ask: 'What do you think happens when hot lava meets cold water?'
  2. Mold a small volcano shape out of playdough. Give it a name — you're the inventor of this island!
  3. Slowly push your finger down from the top: 'The lava is coming OUT — it's making new land!' Spread the playdough at the bottom to show new land forming.
  4. Point to the ocean all around: 'Hawaii is in the middle of the biggest ocean on Earth. No other land for thousands of miles. Wonder how the first people ever found it?'
  5. Draw your volcano. Add fire at the top and new land growing at the bottom.

Learning objectives

  • Wonder at how volcanic islands are actively created by lava meeting the ocean
  • Notice that Hawaii is surrounded by vast ocean with no nearby land
  • Ask why: how could anyone have found such a remote island?

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Here's something amazing: over 1,000 years ago, Polynesian sailors found Hawaii — a tiny speck of land in the middle of the world's largest ocean — WITHOUT a map, GPS, or compass. They used the stars, the shape of waves, and the flight patterns of birds. Can YOU figure out how they did it?

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a globe or world map together. Find Hawaii, then find Tahiti far to the south — that's where the first Hawaiians likely came from. Measure how far apart they are with your finger.
  2. Ask: 'If you were on a canoe with no map, in the middle of the ocean, how would you know which way to go?' Let your child guess before sharing answers: stars at night, wave patterns, bird flight paths, cloud formations over land.
  3. Draw a big blue ocean on your paper. Draw a double-hulled canoe with sails and brave sailors in the middle.
  4. On one side draw the Hawaiian islands; on the other side draw the islands of Polynesia. Draw a dotted path between them — the voyage!
  5. Write or dictate: 'The first Hawaiians found their new home by using _____.'

Learning objectives

  • Understand that Polynesian navigators found Hawaii using natural signs — stars, waves, birds — without modern tools
  • Begin to compare how people navigate today versus 1,500 years ago
  • Retell the story of the first Hawaiian voyage in your own words

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

In 1893, a small group of American sugar businessmen — backed by U.S. Marines and the U.S. Ambassador — walked into the Hawaiian palace and told Queen Liliuokalani her kingdom was over. She surrendered to avoid a bloodbath. The U.S. Congress formally apologized exactly 100 years later, in 1993. Create a cause-and-effect timeline showing how Hawaii went from independent kingdom to the 50th American state.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Fold a long strip of paper into five sections for your timeline.
  2. Section 1 (800 AD): 'Polynesian settlers arrive' — draw a double-hulled canoe.
  3. Section 2 (1810): 'King Kamehameha unites all islands into one kingdom' — draw a king's feathered cloak (kapu cloak). Write: 'He united 8 major islands. How do you unite people who have been rivals?'
  4. Section 3 (1893): 'Queen Liliuokalani overthrown' — draw a palace and write one sentence about what happened and WHY American businessmen wanted Hawaii. (Sugar plantations!)
  5. Section 4 (1941): 'Pearl Harbor — Japan attacks U.S. naval base in Hawaii' — draw a ship and explain how this connected Hawaii to WWII.
  6. Section 5 (1959): 'Hawaii becomes the 50th state' — draw 50 stars. Write: 'Hawaii waited 66 years after the overthrow to become a state. Why so long?'
  7. Share your timeline and explain each event in your own words.

Learning objectives

  • Sequence five key events in Hawaiian history in chronological order with cause-and-effect connections
  • Explain why American businessmen wanted control of Hawaii and what they did to get it
  • Analyze the 66-year gap between the overthrow and statehood and form a hypothesis

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

On January 17, 1893, U.S. Marines surrounded the Hawaiian Royal Palace while a group of American sugar businessmen — not soldiers — walked in and told Queen Liliuokalani her 1,000-year-old kingdom was finished. She wrote a letter of protest to President Cleveland. He agreed it was illegal and tried to restore her. Congress refused. She was then put under house arrest in her own palace, charged with treason. In 1993 — exactly 100 years later — Congress formally apologized. Here is the dilemma: what would YOU have done in her place?

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. Research Queen Liliuokalani: who was she, what was she trying to protect, and why did she surrender without fighting? Find her actual words from her surrender statement.
  2. Research the businessmen's side: what did they want, what economic arguments did they make, and how did they justify overthrowing a foreign government?
  3. Find out what 'annexation' means. Then research: when Hawaii finally voted on statehood in 1959, who was allowed to vote? (The vote excluded many Native Hawaiians who had been displaced.) Write one paragraph on what this means for the legitimacy of the vote.
  4. The dilemma: Queen Liliuokalani could have (a) surrendered peacefully to avoid bloodshed, (b) fought back and risked her people's lives, or (c) appealed to other world powers for help. Evaluate each option — what were the real risks and benefits?
  5. Write a 5-7 sentence persuasive paragraph: Was the U.S. Congress right to apologize in 1993? Should there be further action, and if so, what?
  6. Connection: How does Hawaii's story connect to other cases where powerful nations took over smaller ones? Name one other example from history.
  7. In the 1830s, Hawaiian sugar plantations sold sugar to California for around 4 cents per pound. Imagine you run a 50-acre plantation that produces about 2 tons of sugar per acre. Calculate your yearly revenue, then subtract an estimated $3,000 for workers, tools, and shipping. Would you reinvest the profit into more land or into a faster ship?
  8. Hawaiian outrigger canoe builders shaped koa wood hulls with stone adzes and lashed the ama (float) with coconut fiber cord. Draw a top-down and side view of an outrigger, label the hull, ama, and iako crossbeams, and explain why the float keeps it from tipping. Sketch one modern material you would swap in and say why.

Learning objectives

  • Explain the 1893 overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani with specific evidence including her own words
  • Evaluate three possible responses she could have taken and weigh the real costs of each
  • Analyze the 1959 statehood vote and identify who was excluded and why that matters
  • Write a persuasive paragraph arguing a position on congressional apology and reparations
  • Connect Hawaii's annexation to a broader pattern of colonial history

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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