Kalaheo Elementary second-graders learn business, culture at Kukui Grove Center

About 50 Kalaheo Elementary second-graders spent the day at Kukui Grove Center in Līhu‘e learning how a shopping center can double as a classroom, with tenants and community partners turning storefronts into stations on business, culture, ocean science and life skills.

The students moved through modules built around journaling, but the lesson went far beyond a worksheet. At Premier Martial Arts, students talked about focus, listening, paying attention and resisting bullying. At Deja Vu Surf Hawaii, the “local and global” station showed how products are made, how labels work and why supporting local businesses matters. Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery added a voyaging component through a Hokulea station and even helped students leave the NOAA inflatable whale Kamakai, tying the day to teamwork and ocean literacy.

Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery has become one of the strongest educational anchors at the center. NOAA says the visitor center opened in January 2020 in partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Kukui Grove Center, and more than 1,000 people attended the opening-day celebrations. The free center is open to the public Wednesdays and Fridays from 2 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with special accommodations and programming available for selected school field trips. Its exhibits include humpback whales, Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles, albatrosses and the Kumulipo creation chant. Jean Souza has said the slogan is simple: “the ocean connects us all.”

KAPA Native Books also played a role in showing students that learning can happen in retail spaces, not just classrooms. The shop opened in March 2026 at Kukui Grove Center and carries Hawaiiana along with Japanese, Okinawa, Chinese and other Pacific titles. Kaeo Bradford said the store is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Fridays until about 7 p.m. A March workshop coordinated by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs drew 10 artisans for a kahili pa‘a lima session, underscoring the store’s place as a cultural venue as well as a bookstore.

The outing reflected a model Kalaheo families have seen before. A similar second-grade trip in May 2023 brought nearly 80 students to Kukui Grove and included a finance lesson that saving $100 a month from age 8 to 60 could grow to nearly $1 million through interest and compound interest. Melissa McFerrin Warrack said then that Kukui Grove was “the heart of the community” and that it was the first time the shopping center had hosted a field trip of that size, with Jean Souza helping coordinate the day.

Kukui Grove Center and Kukui Marketplace together occupy 458,378 square feet and serve an island daytime population of more than 100,000, making the Līhu‘e property Kaua‘i’s only regional shopping center. With more than 50 stores, restaurants, local specialty shops and experiences, and more than 250 events and promotions each year, the center is increasingly operating as a civic hub where keiki can learn how commerce, culture and community overlap in everyday life.