A butterfly exhibit at Pearlridge is pleasing to the eyes, but it also teaches about nature and the environment

Pearlridge Center will be all a-flutter when the summer butterfly exhibit, "Flutter: A Green Experience," opens next week.

The butterfly pavilion, which includes 150 live butterflies in an 18-by-18-foot space, gives visitors an opportunity to get an up-close look at the critters, explained Tom Cleavinger, project manager for the exhibit and co-owner of Creative RT, which has set-up several displays at the mall. The pavillion will be in Uptown Center Court.

"We’ve been doing this (butterfly exhibits) for a decade, but it’s the first time it’s been brought to the islands," he said. Due to agricultural concerns, all of the butterflies in the exhibit need to be obtained from local farms, unlike exhibits on the mainland where they can be moved from state to state.

"We’re working with a couple of local farms, one on Maui and one on Oahu," he said. They hope to have both orange and white monarch butterflies and swallowtail butterflies.

Outside the butterfly pavillion, the free exploration station allows keiki to learn about butterflies through crafts that teach about symmetry and anatomy, coloring pages and trivia contests.

"People can take a 10- to 15-minute tour and learn about the butterflies’ wings, the life cycle," he said.

"We decided on butterflies because we wanted to return to the beauty of nature with our summer exhibit," said Kelly Kaui­nana, marketing director of Pearlridge Center. "A butterfly teaches us so many lessons about change, about ecology, about environment and about nature."

Kauinana decided to work with various agencies to bring "green" workshops in conjunction with the exhibit. "We can make small changes to our own behaviors to lessen the impact that we have on our islands," she said.

–Nancy Arcayna / Star-Advertiser

Immerse keiki in all things Filipino with a 6-session summer program

Want your keiki to learn how to make halo-halo or dance the traditional malong from Mindanao in the southern Philippines?

The Filipino for Kids summer cultural enrichment program is available to elementary school-age children of all ethnic backgrounds this summer.

Six Saturday sessions will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon June 22 and 29 and July 6, 13, 20 and 27 at the Filipino Community Center in Wai­pahu. The last one will be set aside for students to showcase everything they’ve learned.

The program, an annual summer collaborative project of the Filipino Community Center with various university groups, includes language and culture components, games, dances, songs and a summer reading program. Participants who complete all six sessions receive a certificate of participation.

Registration is $50 per student (includes a program T-shirt for the first 25 who sign up). To register, call the Filipino Community Center, 94-428 Moku­ola St. Suite 302, at 680-0451 or email fil4kidsHI@gmail.com.

–Nina Wu / Star-Advertiser

‘Musubi Man’ gears up for library tour in June

The "Musubi Man" is running to a public library near you.

This localized version of the "Gingerbread Man" tale, adapted by Lee Cata­luna, was presented by the Hono­lulu Theatre for Youth at Tenney Theatre earlier this year and has been visiting preschools. Now the interactive show, aimed at keiki ages 3 and older, will tour six libraries starting next week.

The magical musubi will make appearances at:
» Kapolei Public Library (693-7050), 10:30 a.m, June 15.
» Waipahu Public Library (675-0358), 10:30 a.m., June 18.
» Kahuku Public & School Library (293-8935), 10 a.m., June 20.
» Waialua Public Library (637-8286), 10 a.m., June 22.
» Waimanalo Public & School Library (259-2610), 10:30 a.m., June 27.
» Waianae Public Library (697-7868), 10 a.m., June 29.

–Gary Chun / Star-Advertiser