HVNP Offers Family Fun Over Halloween Weekend

Big Island Now stock photo.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park invites families to visit the Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai on Halloween weekend, either Oct. 31 or Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rangers will safely provide each child a free ecology gift bag and a bingo card that helps families explore the park Halloween-style.

Park entrance fees apply, but families with fourth graders get in free. Just complete the paper voucher on www.everykidoutdoors.gov and present it at the entrance station fee booth. The Every Kid Outdoors pass provides free access to fourth-grade students and those accompanying them to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas until the end of August 2021. Can’t make it Halloween weekend? Fourth graders are eligible for the pass throughout the year.

The free eco gift bags are provided by the ‘Ōhi‘a Love Fest and paid for by grants funded through the Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death Working Group. They include the bingo exploration card and a Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death (ROD) decontamination kit. ROD is a fungal disease that is killing ʻōhiʻa trees in the park and throughout Hawai‘i.

Families are encouraged to keep everyone healthy and recreate responsibly:

• Practice social distancing. Maintain at least six feet of distance between you and others.
• Wear a face covering when social distancing cannot be maintained.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use your hand sanitizer.
• Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• If you feel sick, visit another day.
• Let wildlife be wild. Do not feed nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, and look out for them on roadways and in parking lots.

Note to teachers and home-schoolers: Would you like a park ranger to visit your classroom virtually? Rangers are ready with distance learning programs, can tailor the program to your curriculum needs, and do a virtual huakaʻi (field trip) on location from the park. Contact [email protected] to set it up.