Charting a new course
In a unique partnership bridging the Pacific, UW Visiting Astronomy Professor Brittany Kamai introduces students to the secrets of the universe through the 鈥渞ocket ships of our ancestors.鈥�
To take one of UW Visiting Astronomy Professor Brittany Kamai鈥檚 classes, you needn鈥檛 be a science major. But you do have to realize that 鈥� even in the sciences 鈥� learning can look a lot of different ways. Sometimes it鈥檚 a lecture hall or a microscope. And sometimes it鈥檚 a canoe under the stars.
Kamai is an astrophysicist based in Wai驶anae, O驶ahu, 贬补飞补颈驶颈, who has spent her adult life passionate to understand the universe from two perspectives: through practicing Pacific Islanders鈥� Indigenous wayfinding passed down across generations, and through her academic work with a Ph.D. in astrophysics, which approaches the topic with a decidedly Western lens. Because of this uniquely multifaceted approach, she was invited to teach at the 痳豆在线 in spring 2024 through a Native Knowledge Lecturer Grant from the UW鈥檚 .听听
In that first class, called听, Kamai says she presented Western and Indigenous knowledge separately. 鈥淏ut the second time I taught the class [in spring 2025], it felt like I was weaving them together, like making听a听lei,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 noticed the difference in how I talked about topics: For example, I would have the students understand planetary and orbital dynamics听鈥斕齮he sun and the听Earth听going around each other听鈥斕齜ut then show how that presents in what we see out on the ocean.鈥�听
This combined approach became even more tangible in the summer 2025 study abroad course she taught in 贬补飞补颈驶颈. There, Kamai鈥檚 goal was to help 20 UW students 鈥渦nderstand canoes as the rocket ships of our ancestors鈥� through a hands-on Hawaiian experience rather than relying on pictures, videos, the UW Planetarium听 and star apps due to Seattle鈥檚 perpetually cloudy skies. Over four weeks split between O驶ahu and Maui, students went through ocean safety training, worked on traditional canoes with professional voyaging academies and supported the local community through a variety of events, including dinners with high schools students to talk about career pathways, star stories at the navigation heiau (traditional Hawaiian place of worship) in Wai驶anae and teaching the elementary, middle and high school children in Lahaina, Maui about their cultural connections to the greatest navigators in history.听
Kamai wasn鈥檛 this study abroad cohort鈥檚 only educator 鈥� they learned from local Hawaiian community organizers and voyagers, as well as one another.
Some of that work, spearheaded by UW Master of Education student Raveena Gandhi, involved putting on a workshop for local educators to offer resources that support teaching through multiple ways of knowing. Gandhi took Kamai鈥檚 course as a researcher last spring, curious to see what it looked like when a teacher brought Indigenous knowledge into STEM education and did things a little bit differently. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really what I鈥檓 most interested in: How do you teach STEM more expansively, beyond contemporary, Western scientific ways of knowing? How do you think together about STEM education, the environment, and Indigenous cultural revitalization?鈥� she asks. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until I got to the UW and met Brittany that I was like, 鈥極h, she’s thinking about things in ways I hadn鈥檛 even considered before.鈥� It鈥檚 been a really rich learning experience.鈥� 听
Kamai asked students to design their own voyage 鈥� complete with building a tiny vessel to send out to sea.
That鈥檚 really what I鈥檓 most interested in: How do you teach STEM more expansively, beyond contemporary, Western scientific ways of knowing?
Gandhi鈥檚 approach to educational research has been shaped by Kamai鈥檚 teaching philosophy. She鈥檚 finishing her master鈥檚 degree in June but plans to remain at the UW in the fall to work toward a Ph.D., to continue to study culturally grounded approaches to STEM education. 鈥淭he trust that gets built in that classroom really lays the groundwork for people to share their thoughts, be vulnerable,鈥� Gandhi says. 鈥淚n Brittany鈥檚 class, she really seamlessly has found a way to bring these two things together: This is who I am as a scientist, and this is who I am culturally 鈥� and those can work together to expand teaching and learning.鈥澨�
Kamai will be teaching her course at the UW in Seattle in winter 2027 and taking another group of study abroad students to 贬补飞补颈驶颈 in the future. For more information on her upcoming courses, keep an eye on the .听听
Story by Chelsea Lin // Photos courtesy of Brittany Kamai and students
