Each year at the close of kindergarten, Punahou students take part in a beloved tradition – creating special time capsules filled with memories and letters from their parents to be opened again during their senior year. This May, that longstanding tradition became part of a new chapter in school history as two kindergarten classes became the first students to place their time capsules into the new Archives vault within the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons.
Led by Director of Archives & Special Collections Kylee Mar, the students toured the new facility, exploring the History Wall, Café Overlook and Archives area before entering the vault itself. Inside, the kindergartners cheered proudly as their teachers carried the time capsule container into the vault and carefully placed it on the shelves – marking the first official deposit into the new archives space.
The visit gave students an early glimpse into a building that will soon become a central hub for learning and community at Punahou. Scheduled to officially open on the first day of the 2026 – 2027 school year, the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons is designed as a state-of-the-art intellectual and collaborative center for Academy students and faculty. The 53,300-square-foot facility will bring together flexible learning spaces, technology and engineering labs, emerging technology studios, sustainability-focused learning areas, archives and gathering spaces that encourage creativity, discovery and connection across campus.
During the tour, students also learned about Mary Kawena Pukui, the renowned Native Hawaiian scholar, educator, composer and author for whom the building is named. Pukui taught at Punahou in the 1930s and helped establish the School’s curriculum in ʻike Hawaiʻi. Over her lifetime, she published more than 50 scholarly works, including the definitive Hawaiian-English Dictionary, and dedicated herself to preserving and perpetuating Hawaiian language, culture and traditions for future generations.
As the kindergartners explored the new spaces together, their time capsule became more than a tradition – they became the first stories preserved within a building dedicated to learning, memory and the future of the Punahou community.
