The Big IslandTrip
Three days. One volcano. A whole grade level of Egrets sleeping under the stars at Kīlauea. It is the thing 4th graders count down to from the very first day of school.
until takeoff
It starts with theshortest flight ever.
Forty minutes over the channel and you are on a different island, one that is still growing. Most students have never flown without their family before. The whole grade goes together, and teachers and chaperones ride right alongside them.
Where we go(tentative, and always exciting)
- ✈️Day 1
Wheels up from Honolulu
The whole 4th grade flies over to Hilo together. Window seats, cloud spotting, and the first glimpse of Hawai'i Island from the air.
- 🐠Day 1
Mokupāpapa Discovery Center
A walk-through of the Papahānaumokuākea marine monument: reef life, giant sea creature models, and a 2,500 gallon aquarium.
- 🏕️Day 1
Check in at Kīlauea Military Camp
Home base for the trip, tucked inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Cabins, cool mountain air, and bunk buddies.
- 🌋Day 2
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Steam vents, lava tubes, and the Kīlauea caldera itself. This is the part students talk about for years afterward.
- 🌊Day 2
Pacific Tsunami Museum
Real stories from Hilo's 1946 and 1960 tsunamis, told in the building that survived them.
- 🔭Day 3
'Imiloa Astronomy Center
Hawaiian voyaging and modern astronomy under one roof, plus a planetarium show that puts Maunakea's night sky overhead.
- 🍫Day 3
Big Island Candies
The famous last stop. Watch chocolate shortbread get made, then bring a little something home for the family.
The itinerary is planned by the Grade 4 team and can shift with bookings and weather.
And then the skyturns on.
Away from town lights, Volcano's night sky is unreal. Between the planetarium at 'Imiloa and looking straight up outside the cabins, this is usually the moment students say they will never forget.
What to bring
- ✓Comfy walking shoes
- ✓A warm jacket (Volcano gets chilly!)
- ✓Rain jacket
- ✓Refillable water bottle
- ✓Backpack for day trips
- ✓Sense of adventure
Leave the electronics home. Any phone that comes along gets collected and held by teachers for safekeeping.
How it gets paid for
The Grade 4 team, families, and the PTO fundraise all year so the trip costs students as little as possible. Mochi bag sales, the Haunted House, and the Magic Show all feed straight back into this trip.
Every dollar raised lowers what each family pays and helps cover the teachers and staff who go along.
See our fundraisersAsk any 5th grader what the best part of 4th grade was.
They will say the volcano.