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Honolulu & O’ahu : Bishop Museum and Planetarium

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Bishop Museum and Planetarium

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  • The State Museum for Natural and Cultural History is a family-friendly center for scientific and cultural experience and study. It also hosts traveling exhibitions and is home to the Jhamandus Watumull planetarium. Almost every weekend, and on many weeknights, there are lectures, workshops, and openings. The museum has also created a new Science Learning Center.

Top 10 Highlights
  • Polynesian Hall 1. Polynesian Hall
    1. Polynesian Hall

    Two floors of the museum are devoted to Pacific cultures other than Hawai’i’s. The artifacts give an insight into rituals and religion, daily life, warfare, clothing, music, and dance, and include carved figures .

  • Hawaiian Hall 2. Hawaiian Hall
    2. Hawaiian Hall

    The koa -paneled Hawaiian Hall is the heart of the Bishop Museum, a glowing Victorian period piece in three scalloped and colonnaded tiers. It is dedicated to the display of objects given to the museum by Hawaiian royalty, and to the study of Hawai’i’s immigrant groups.

  • 3. Hall of Hawaiian Natural History

    Here, the scientists of the Bishop Museum have amassed objects relating to the evolution of plant and animal life in the Pacific. Learn about the many forms of life found only in Hawai’i, such as happy-face spiders.

  • Kāhili Room 4. Kāhili Room
    4. Kāhili Room

    Beloved by the Hawaiian people, this collection honors Hawaiian royalty through portraiture and displays of royal belongings, including the fragile feather standards called kāhili .

  • Hawai’i Sports Hall of Fame 5. Hawai’i Sports Hall of Fame
    5. Hawai’i Sports Hall of Fame

    An unusual installation for a cultural museum, but islanders are just crazy about sports, which have always been a primary form of community-building.

  • 6. Library

    This extensive library includes a database of published diaries, narratives, and memoirs, all with an emphasis on Hawai’i and Pacific culture.

  • 7. Archives

    The museum’s academic work, collected in the archives, takes the form of manuscripts, photographs, recordings, and unique oral histories.

  • 8. Castle Building

    Dinosaurs, robots, chocolate, Mars, spiders, and volcanoes have been the subjects of visiting exhibitions. Most are interactive and designed to pull in youngsters.

  • 9. Hawaiian Science Garden

    This garden reproduces in miniature the unique land division employed by Hawaiians: triangular territories that ran from the peaks of mountains right down into the sea. These ahupua’a afforded each village access to fresh water, sea water, and lumber.

  • 10. Planetarium

    The exceptionally active planetarium stages interactive shows, night-viewing sessions, and daily solar observances from 2:30 to 3:15pm.

Practical Information
The museum’s shop, Pacifica, is a wonderful gift emporium – one of the island’s best. The quality of its souvenirs is excellent, and the wide-ranging book selection runs from history to science, and archaeology to anthropology. 1525 Bernice St., Honolulu 847 3511 www.bishopmusem.org 9am–5pm daily Adm $14.95, child (ages 4–12) and seniors $11.95 (discounts for local residents and military)
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