WAIKIKI, Hawaii (KHON2) -- Waikiki Elementary fifth graders are getting sea urchins at the Waikiki Aquarium into the Halloween spirit.
Students designed and 3D printed various costumes for collector urchins to showcase the Halloween spirit through problem-solving, STEAM education and marine conservation.
Waikiki Elementary student Lilian Polley learned how to design with the Tinker-Cad app, which teaches users how to design their ideas using either 3D or 2D printing.
“I wanted to make this Christmas hat because it’s gonna be Christmas really soon and Halloween's only a few days from now so I decided to make something for Christmas," explained Polley.
The stylish hats also act as a barrier between sea urchins and harmful UV rays.
“We have been making hats for the sea urchins to protect them from the sunlight because they don’t really like it and in nature what they will do is pile things on top of them like sand and shells and rocks to get out of the sun," said Marcus, another Waikiki Elementary student.
Other designs included a witch's hat, a top hat and an LA Dodgers cap.
The urchins will eventually be released into the ocean and will act as a form of biocontrol, helping to combat invasive algae that threaten Hawaii's reefs.
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"They’re very important because right now we are dealing with a big bloom of like algae that’s been choking out the coral and so collector urchins, they eat this kind of algae and so far the state of Hawaii has put out about a million collector urchins, particularly having problems in Kaneohe Bay and Waikiki Beach right outside.”