Michelle Beck, age 13, of Tucson, Ariz.. for her question:

Does the 50th state include all the Hawaiian Islands?

Yes, our 50th state includes all the Hawaiian Islands. Together they form an archipelago, an island chain, in the mid‑Pacific. There are eight principle islands together with many surf washed reefs and islets, The total length of the archipelago is about 1,650 miles, hot the entire land area of the new state is only 6,407 square miles. The area of the eight principle islands is less than that of New Jersey. Some of the small islands are sea bird sanctuaries and some pare uncharted wilderness.

The new island state lies just south of the Tropic of Cancer, which puts it all inside the tropics. However, it does not suffer the scorching heat of most tropical lands. The islands are washed by the Pacific Ocean and fannod by. the gentle trade winds. The weather is never cold and never scorching hot.

The island of Hawaii, though‑ twice as large as all the others put together., is not the chief island, This honor goes to the smaller island of Oahu, on which stands the capital city of Honolulu which grew to be the busiest region of the islands because of its great natural harbor. Just west of Honolulu is famous Pearl Harbor and to the east is famous Waikiki Beach and the rugged cliffs of Diamond Head Mountain.