The Bishop Museum
1525 Bernice Street
Honolulu
808-847-3511
Summary:
A world-renowned museum dedicated to the
history, culture, and flora and fauna of
Hawaii
Begun as a labor of love,
the Bishop Museum’s collection of
187,000 Hawaiian and Pacific artifacts;
19,958,000 bird, mammal, insect and
marine life specimens; 250,000 plant
specimens; and renowned Planetarium and
Observatory has made it one of the
world’s leading scientific
institutions. It is now officially
recognized by the State of Hawaii as the
State Museum of Natural and Cultural
History.
Hawaiian
Hall
Hawaiian Hall is,
for most visitors, the Bishop
Museum’s main attraction. Housed in
a magnificent building made of volcanic
stones, the displays in
Hawaiian Hall explain traditional
Hawaiian culture and the impact Europeans
and Americans had on these traditional
ways. Look for the rare examples of featherwork (which was reserved for royalty) such as capes,
helmets and leis, and for the polished
koa bowls, and the dog-tooth and
shark-tooth ornaments made by Hawaiian
craftsmen.
Hawaiian Hall also holds a
50-foot sperm whale replica as part of
its exhibit on the influence that the
whaling industry had on Hawaiian culture.
One side of the whale is cut-away to show
the skeletal framework of this enormous
mammal.
Tours
We recommend the gallery
orientation of Hawaiian Hall (given at 3
PM daily) as a great means of
understanding the series of events that
gave rise to the Bishop Museum. You will
learn about the love story between
Princess Bernice Pauahi and her husband
Charles Reed Bishop, who named the museum
they established together in the
Princess’s honor. (Incidentally,
portraits of the Princess and of Mr.
Bishop hang on either side of the grand
staircase that faces you as you enter the
main museum building.) Other gallery
tours are given throughout the day.
Craft
Demonstrations
If your schedule allows it,
plan to attend one of the Hawaiian craft
demonstrations presented in Hawaiian Hall
Mondays through Saturdays. Examples of
the crafts you will see include Hawaiian
quilts, flower and feather lei making,
and stone and bone carving.
Special
Presentations
The Bishop Museum offers
frequent presentations of the music and
dance of Hawaii (usually held in Hawaiian
Hall) with the performers dressed in
traditional Hawaiian clothing.
One particularly interesting
presentation are the film clips from a
1930s series called "Travelogues of
the Hawaiian Islands." These clips
are shown daily in the Atherton Halau
auditorium at 9:30 AM, 1 PM, and 3:30 PM.
The films include a few statements that
are now considered somewhat politically
incorrect, but otherwise, the message
that Hawaii is a vacationer’s
tropical paradise remains as true today
as it was then.
Details
Getting There: To
reach The Bishop Museum by car, take H1
to exit 20B and follow the signs to the
Bishop Museum. You can also take No. 2
Bus to the School/Kapalama Street stop.
Walk one block east on Kapalama Street,
then turn right onto Bernice Street and
walk a half-block.
Hours: Open daily
from 9 AM to 5 PM (closed Christmas Day)
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