It’s Turtle Tuesday! Tonight’s After Dark in the Park and a new educational app feature Hawksbill Sea Turtles
Tonight’s After Dark in the Park at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is all about one of the most beloved yet endangered creatures contributing to the biodiversity found here: the honu‘ea, or hawksbill sea turtle.
A hawksbill hatchling heads towards the ocean after emerging from its nest in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. NPS Photo.
Join Lauren Kurpita, coordinator for the Hawai‘i Island Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project, who will present “Honu‘ea: Endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtles of Hawai‘i Island.” Lauren will address the difference between hawksbill and green sea turtle species, threats to hawksbills, and conservation efforts to help protect this amazing species from extinction. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing After Dark in the Park series, from 7 to 8 p.m. Free, but park entrance fees apply.
Cover of new educational hawksbill game app. Courtesy photo.
In addition, One Planet Education Network (OPEN) announces the launch of Turtle Trails – Save Me! I am the Hawksbill Turtle conservation education game application for Apple iOS and Google Android mobile devices, designed for for children, ages 7-13.
The app is currently available at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s Kīlauea Visitor Center and Jaggar Museum, and bookstores at those locations. It is also being distributed at the Mokupāpapa Marine Discovery Center in Hilo.
This $4.99 educational app can be purchased and downloaded onsite at the above locations via open Wi-Fi links as well as traditional cellular services that connect to dedicated site-specific Turtle Trails websites. These site-specific websites are noted on sales posters and media cards installed at the public facilities noted above. It can also be purchased online through OPEN and its partner websites.
A portion of the gross revenue proceeds from both game apps and curriculum sales will go to support programs at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, the National Marine Sanctuaries, and Hawksbill sea turtle recovery programs.
In Turtle Trails, a player helps critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles to successfully navigate the land-based stages of their reproductive cycle at Halapē, a beach within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, while avoiding numerous human-caused and natural hazards.
Poster for Save Me! Turtle Trails –I am the Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Turtle Trails has an accompanying in depth standards-based curriculum for US grades 3-8th grade levels, sold separately with accompanying game to schools in the US and worldwide. Now entering classrooms worldwide, game-based learning is an exciting new frontier for education.
Turtle Trails was developed with the cooperation and support of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s scientific interpretation and educational experts; Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association; NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries; and the Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund.
Educational Research & Development for OPEN’s learning games and in classroom testing was supported and approved by the US Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and NASA. OPEN’s real-world based STEM designed games have shown learning gains over traditional methods of learning and teaching.
Pacific Island National Parks 
Sounds like a great game to capture interest. Might try it too!