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Important Deadlines
Priority Registration for Waitlist: December 6, 2024
Deadline Extended!
NEW Application Deadline: January 10, 2025
or until classes are full
Students accepted to the Saturday Gene-ius Program must fill out an online registration form and submit payment by mailing us a check.
Saturday Gene-iuses
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
3190 Maile Way, St. John 102
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa teaching laboratories. We will inform you of your classroom location through email prior to the first session
Parking is available in the upper campus lots and in front of the St. John Building. There is no charge on Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays.
Parking fees are subject to change at any time. Visit https://manoa.hawaii.edu/commuter/visitors for the latest information
All students will be required to purchase their own lab coat and bring their lab coat to class to participate in the lab. Students and any chaperones will be required to wear covered shoes
We do not accept walk-ins or telephone reservations for the Saturday Gene-ius program. We cannot accept cash and will not honor reservations without payment. Also, payment for all Saturday Gene-ius sessions are non refundable. If you have further questions, please visit our FAQ or email us!
January 18, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
After witnessing an unusual alien creature fail in his attempt to steal baby animals from the planet Yorb, their mission is to find a way to match up each baby with the correct parent. How can you complete this task if the babies look nothing like their parents? Students are on a mission to match the correct baby to their mom using DNA as a tool! They will build a DNA model, extract DNA from fruit, and find matching DNA sequences.
January 25, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
What if planet Earth had reached its maximum capacity and we were forced to move to the moon? Could human life persist without plants? Definitely not! In this class, students will learn how plants play a vital role in human survival, discover the different plant parts vegetables come from, learn how plants breathe by photosynthesis, observe the part of the plant cell that “breathes” (hello microscopes!), and dye a bandana using naturally occurring dyes!
February 1, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Did you know there are over one million types of insects living on our planet?! Did you know a cockroach can live for ONE WEEK without a head or that a flea can jump 130 times its height? Insects are incredible creatures, some of which are very important to us while others can carry harmful diseases. In this class, students will observe preserved insects, identify the different body parts of insects (just like scientists do!), build their very own insect model, and explore the relationship between the form and function of different insect mouth-parts with a simulated feeding activity!
February 8, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Did you know Forensic Science is any science that can be used to help police solve a crime? We want you to help us solve a case by becoming a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) for the day! In this class, students will use forensic science to learn about the types of evidence that can be collected at a crime scene and how to analyze them. They will collect enormous fingerprints, sticky blood samples, and alien hair strands to find our guilty suspect!
February 15, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
What happens when you mix biology (the study of plants and animals) and technology (the making of tools and machinery) together? You get biotechnology! Scientists who work in biotechnology develop products that make our lives easier! In this class, students make the connection that living things can be – and often are! – used as tools by humans during an activity using yeast, a fungus. Students will learn how scientists have used DNA and microscopic bacteria to make things we use every day … for example, cheese and insulin! Many scientists study how naturally occurring slime can be used as a tool by humans. Students will also get to make their own slime in this class!
February 22, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Does that mean I’m a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if that’s what I ate for lunch? Of course not, but what you eat does determine how healthy and strong you are. We get energy from the foods we eat! Also, did you know fruits, vegetables, and even your hands are covered in bacteria?! Some of these bacteria are good, while others can make you sick. In this class, students will learn how far the food they eat has to travel, build a battery using the energy from different types of fruit, and experience how quickly germs can spread!
March 1, 2025
1o:00 am – 12:00 pm
This Mission is all about dinosaurs! Students will be introduced to the geologic history of the earth by allowing them to build a visual representation of deep geologic time. Then, students will learn about the process of fossilization by making their own “fossil.” Finally, students will become paleontologists, digging up dinosaur “fossils” and assembling them into a complete skeleton. At the end of the lesson, students will learn fun facts about dinosaurs by setting up and exploring their very own Dinosaur Photo Exhibit.
March 8, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Weather is all around us! It is something that kids interact with every day, but probably know little about. Students have also probably heard about climate change and ocean acidification, but might not be able to define what these processes are and what they mean. Students will observe a variety of instruments measuring the weather and build their very own UV detector that changes color when outside! To better understand climate, students will build a CO2-releasing volcano to discuss the greenhouse effect. Finally, students will conduct an experiment to observe how increased CO2 in our atmosphere leads to ocean acidification and the effects this has on our planet.
March 15, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
There is incredible diversity in the animal and plant life found on our planet. This lesson will explore one reason that this diversity exists: adaptation! Through engaging activities and a colorful presentation, students will learn about what makes animals uniquely suited for living in one environment and not another.
Students will explore the adaptations of a highly specialized and adapted animal: the penguin! Students will then be challenged to see how different bird adaptations allow them to live different lifestyles and take advantage of different resources! Students will gain an understanding of what an adaptation is, why adaptations are important, and how adaptations can help explain how life is distributed across the globe!
* Please note that some lessons may be subject to change due to product availability *
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