Hawaii Facts For Kids
Fun Facts About Hawaii For Kids
Thank you so much for stopping by to check out these amazing and fun Hawaii facts for kids! Hawaii is one of the most famous tourists destinations in the world. I’m truly excited to bring you these interesting and fun facts about Hawaii for kids. It’s exotic beauty makes it a destination that is desired from people all over the world.
I personally have not had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful state yet, but it’s very high on my “to travel” list. My daughter and I decided to take a deep dive into the beautiful state of Hawaii and bring you some really amazing and fun Hawaii facts for kids!
Hawaii Facts For Kids
Before we get into the more interesting and fun facts about Hawaii for kids, let’s go over a quick historical timeline. It’s important to understand the history behind Hawaii. Take a look at the timeline below to see how Hawaii became the United State’s 50th state!
Map of Hawaiian Islands. Also, a map showing where Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean relative to the U.S.
The first number is the year.
- 500 – The first people to arrive on the Hawaiian Islands, the Polynesians.
Portrait of Captain James Cook. A portrait by John Webber.
- 1778 – Captain James Cook, a British explorer, visits the islands.
- 1779 – In a skirmish with the islanders Captain James Cook is killed.
- 1793 – The first cattle are introduced to Hawaii.
- 1810 – The Kingdom of Hawaii is established after King Kamehameha conquers all the islands.
- 1819 – Whalers began hunting off the shores of the islands.
- 1820 – Christian missionaries arrive on the Hawaiian islands.
- 1826 – A treaty of friendship is started between Hawaii and the United States.
- 1835 – The first sugar plantation is built.
- 1893 – The Republic of Hawaii is created after the Kingdom of Hawaii is overthrown.
- 1898 – Hawaii officially becomes a United States territory.
- 1900 – China town falls victim to a great fire.
- 1901 – The Hawaiian Pineapple company is established by James Dole.
- 1935 – Flying solo from Hawaii to the mainland United States, Amelia Earhart is the first pilot to accomplish this feat.
- 1941 – The United States enters WWII after Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese in a surprise attach.
- 1959 – Hawaii becomes the United State’s official 50th state.
Click here to learn more about the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
I want to thank ducksters for helping us with this great timeline for Hawaii!
Fun Facts About Hawaii For Kids
Now that you have a little sense of Hawaii’s history, let’s get to some fun and interesting Hawaii facts for kids.
♦ State capital is Honolulu
♦ State motto – Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.)
The Na Pali Coast showing off the steep sea cliffs of Kauai.
♦ Hawaii state bird is the Nene or Hawaiian Goose
♦ The famous, Hula Dance is also the states official dance.
♦ The state fish is a mouthful, are you ready? Humuhumunukunuku apua’a (Hawaiian Trigger Fish. This is unofficial, but that word may hold the record for the most u’s in a single word.
♦ Hawaii’s state gem is the black coral.
♦ The origin of the name Hawaii is more than likely to have been derrived from “Havaiki” or “Hawaiki”. According to legend these are the names of the original homeland of the Polynesians.
♦ The official language of Hawaii are English and Hawaiian. Most residents of the Hawaiian Islands speak English.
♦ Mount Waialeale on Kauai is the wettest place on earth. It receives up to 460 inches of rain fall anually.
♦ The largest volcano on earth is Mauna Loa located on the island of Hawaii.
♦ Farmland actually covers about 40% of Hawaii. It’s main agriculture is sugarcane, pineapple, macadamia nuts and coffee.
The largest volcano on Earth, Mauna Loa. It measures over 2,000 square miles!
♦ The last reigning monarch from 1881 to 1893 was Queen Liliuokalani.
♦ Hawaii is made up of 8 major islands. Hawaii, Kauai, Niiahu, Maui, Kahoolawe, Moloka, Lanai and Oahu.
♦ “Aloha State” is one of Hawaii’s nicknames. It’s derived from the Polynesian word alofa which has multiple means including love, compassion and mercy. Aloha is used for both hello and goodbye in Hawaii.
♦ Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and was the first president outside the continental United States.
♦ Hawaii is actually the only state in the U.S. that has an increasing land area. This is due to the continuous volcanic eruptions.
♦ There is only one kind of land snake to be found in the wild of Hawaii. It’s the Hawaiian blind snake. It’s not a native to Hawaii however, they believe that it was brought over from the Philippines in 1929 with some soil used for landscaping the Kamehameha School grounds.
♦ The very unique “Happy Face Spider” calls Hawaii home. It gets its name from having a happy face on it’s back.
♦ There are only 2 mammals native to Hawaii, the monk seal and the hoary bat.
♦ The hula was originally a form of worship performed by highly trained men who were supposedly taught the dance by the Hawaiian god Luka.
♦ Hawaii does not have a minority. Caucasians make up about 33%, Japanese make up about 33%, Filipino-Americans make up about 16% and Chinese Americans make up about 5%.
Hawaiian Islands From Space!
♦ Hawaii is the south most state in the United States.
♦ The residents of Hawaii have the longest lifespan than any other state in the US. As of the year 2000, if your born in Hawaii the average lifespan is 79.8 years.
♦ Hawaiians considered the shark (mano as they call it) a god and treated it with great respect.
♦ Hawaii has it’s own timezone and does not observe daylight savings time.
♦ The biggest sea cliffs in the world are on Moloka’i.
♦ Hawaii has the most endangered species and has lost more species than any other state in the U.S. Nearly all the states native birds are in danger of becoming extinct.
♦ The island that gets the most visitors is Oahu.
♦ Hawaii is the most isolated population center in the world. It’s 2,390 miles from the nearest continent (North America).
♦ The show “Lost” was filmed in Hawaii. The end credits send a note thanking “people of Hawaii and their Aloha spirit.”
Hawaii Facts For Kids – Cool Video About Hawaii
Check out the cool travel guide put on by Expedia ! It gives you a pretty good idea of how beautiful the Hawaiian Islands truly are. Enjoy!
After you watch the video, check out the poll below and let us know which Hawaiian Island you want to visit the most!
[poll id=”8″]
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Fun Facts About Hawaii – Travel To Hawaiian Islands
If you are planning, or want to plan a trip to Hawaii, I strongly suggest visiting the site below.
I have not traveled to Hawaii before, but I have looked at going. The site above provides some of the best information and resources on the internet for planning your first Hawaiian vacation. It provides guides to each individual island so you can decide which one makes the best sense for you to visit. Maybe you like being more away from people, Kauai is probably more your style. Maybe you are looking for the island with the best night life, then Maui is probably for you!
Whatever you want out of your Hawaiian vacation, you will want to check out the site above to find everything you need to plan your first or tenth visit!
Hawaii Facts For Kids – Conclusion
It’s been fun. My daughter and I have learned so much about this fascinating 50th state of the U.S. I hope that you walk away with more information than you arrived with about Hawaii. After spending so much time researching Hawaii, it has sparked my passion to visit this place again. My daughter asked me when we plan on going! Might have to get on over to www.gohawaii.com to get this visit planned!
Please, visit some other fun fact pages below. We have so much to offer and hope you find even more fascinating and fun facts for kids!
Hawaii Facts For Kids
