Hands-on extravaganza a showcase for college

“It’s an open house on steroids.”

Rob Molyneux, co-coordinator of the Paliku Arts Festival, gives a colorful description of the free annual event held at Windward Community College.

Families can learn about and participate in activities such as clay sculpture, Hawaiian fiber art, pottery, drawing, wood-carving, mask-making and printmaking. Molyneux will once again silk-screen a special design onto T-shirts brought in by attendees.

“It’s our way of showing off this little gem of a campus,” he said.

The Paliku Theatre will feature acting and stage combat demonstrations, as well as play host to a casual kanikapila that will bring together music teachers and students, as well as visitors with instruments (and voices) who want to sit in.

Gallery ‘Iolani will be open, showing off its latest exhibit “interior,” featuring furniture and lighting installation pieces.

The Imaginarium will be showing “Secrets of the Dragon” ($3 admission) at 12:30, 3 and 3:30 p.m. and “Music of the Spheres” (free) at 1 and 1:45 p.m.

There will also be storytelling by Hawaiian studies professor Liko Hoe at the campus’s newly constructed Library Learning Commons.

“We believe in the transformative power of the arts,” said Ben Moffat, a former drama and theater professor who helps out with the festival, which hosted 5,000 people last year.

“There’s a great energy because people can be not just passive observers, but can take chances and explore new areas of creativity while at play.” — Gary Chun

Nanotechnology gets keiki-friendly makeover

Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center celebrates Nano Week, from Tuesday to April 7, with hands-on science-related activities that explore nanotechnology in a manner that makes it relatable to children.

Activities run from 10:30 a.m. to noon on weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekends. The schedule:

>> Mystery Shapes (Tuesday): Children use their sense of touch to investigate hidden objects.

>> Invisibility (Wednesday): Participants investigate how glass objects can be “hidden” in some liquids.

>> Gummy Capsules (Thursday): Make self-assembled polymer spheres.

>> Memory Metals (Friday): Compare the properties of a memory metal spring to an ordinary spring.

>> Nano Saturday (April 6): Make a bracelet that changes color under UV light, experiment with magnets, make elephant ears, and listen to “Horton Hears a Who” during storytime.

>> Nano Sunday (April 7): Children and families can use an air-cannon toy to spin pinwheels, discover how a super-absorbing material can be used to move a straw, and explore 3-D images.

The programs are free with museum admission, which is $10; $8 kamaaina; $6 for seniors over 62; children under 1 and members are free.

The Center is at 111 Ohe St. Visit www.discovery­centerhawaii.org or call 524-5437. — Nancy Arcayna

HTY offers its spin on beloved ‘Web’

Several generations of kids have loved E.B. White’s classic children’s story, “Charlotte’s Web,” and taken to heart the lessons it contains: Spiders are good; rats are selfish opportunists but convenient allies in a pinch; and it is bad to kill a pig even when it is the runt of the litter.

For anyone who doesn’t know (spoiler alert!), a spider named Charlotte figures out a way to save a pig from slaughter and a ruthless rat strikes a deal very much to the rat’s advantage for its help in making the plan successful. Honolulu Theatre for Youth brings its 2012-2013 season to a close with a production based on White’s beloved classic.

Artistic Director Eric Johnson directs a cast of seven talented actors in presenting HTY’s version of this child-friendly tale of friendship, loyalty, opportunism, life and death.

Parents who want their kids to get the most out of the experience should consider investing in a copy of White’s book and downloading a free study guide at www.htyweb.org. — John Berger