HONOLULU -- President-elect Barack Obama spent a fairly busy day on Oahu as his Hawaii vacation winds to a close with visits to his alma mater, the zoo and his grandmother's Makiki apartment.

Obama spent about two hours at Punahou School playing basketball with former classmates and other friends Tuesday morning. He took nearly 10 minutes greeting a couple of hundred Punahou students, parents, teachers and staff outside the gym.

"He came and saw all of us, took his time as he came down through and said hi to all of us. It was really nice," Punahou teacher and alumna Malia Chong said.

Duncan DiMauro got to shake Obama's hand.

"It was very exciting. I got to see president-elect Obama and I got to shake his hand. I worked on his campaign, so it was very exciting for me to come down and see him," DiMauro's mother, Anita, said.

Then, Obama and his motorcade made their way off the Punahou campus and onto their next destination: the Honolulu Zoo, where he met up with his daughters and some friends. Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann greeted the president-elect there.

Hundreds of zoo-goers cheered for Obama as he walked through the grounds for about two hours, with Secret Service keeping the public back and redirecting them away from the Obama party when people got close to try to take photos.

"We just came to the zoo with our family and were expecting to see some animals, and we got the biggest thrill of all -- seeing the president-elect," Steve Ellenberg said.

Obama and his entourage spent a lot of time at the Sumatran tiger exhibit, which includes three new tiger cubs. The cubs were born there this fall. Zoo officials took the Obama entourage behind-the-scenes to the back of the exhibit to get a closer look at the tiger cubs and their mother.

After leaving the zoo, Obama went to visit his grandmother's old apartment in Makiki.

People at Punahou School and Honolulu Zoo said they were surprised when security crews began using electronic wands to search them for firearms and also checked the contents of purses and bags. Only later did those people realize the next president was visiting close by.