For the last two-decades the Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center has sat on outskirts of the Kona airport. It’s a tribute to astronaut Ellison Onizuka, who was killed in the Challenger accident after becoming the first Asian American to reach space.
Around 15,000 people visit the center each year to see exhibits which teach the principles of space and physics as well as memorabilia from Onizuka’s life. But the center plans to close its doors at the end of the month to make way for a seventy-million dollar renovation to the Kona Airport.
Nancy Tashima is the educational director of the center. She hopes an organization will step forward to house the museum’s collection.
Shirley Matsuoka is Ellison Onizuka’s sister and volunteers at the center. For her, the closing will be an especially sad day.
The State Department of Transportation offered to construct a new building- but the higher cost to operate and staff a larger space were too high for the center to continue.
