Measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory stopped after the 2022 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano, when lava flow crossed the access road and took out power lines to the facility. The observatory remains inaccessible by vehicle and without power from the local utility company.

Observatory staff has established limited solar power in four observatory buildings and restored approximately 33 percent of the measurements onsite, including the Global Monitoring Laboratory and Scripps critical CO2 records and other atmospheric measurements.

Media can contact: Theo Stein (303) 819-7409 (theo.stein@noaa.gov) or Karin Vergoth 303-632-6413‬ (karin.vergoth@noaa.gov)

MLO Activities

Below is a list of hands-on displays and activities that Mauna Loa Observatory has showcased at Earth Day fairs, special events, and at the office in Hilo during school class field trips. Each activity description contains background information about the educational basis of the activity, as well as photographs whenever possible. If you are a teacher or educator and would like to visit the MLO office with a group of students, please see our General Visitors page. Note also that our School Visits page contains special reports of past school visits to MLO. These are excellent resources for teachers that want to see how all the activities below could fit together during a field trip to MLO.

All MLO activities are in a printable Adobe Reader (.pdf) format.