Go Museum Hoping

Museum buffs may have to give up a lot of beach time if they choose to dig through the halls and exhibits of Oahu's wide array of galleries. In addition to the Bishop Museum, you'll find the Hawaii Maritime Center, the Mission Houses Museum, 'lolani Palace and variety of more finely focused and fascinating museums. They all promise interesting collections. Following are a few that stand out.

Nestled on a quiet forested mountain slope above the hustle and bustle of Honolulu is The Contemporary Museum (526-0232).  Installed in what was once the home of Anna Rice Cooke, acres of Zen-like oriental gardens with views of Diamond Head allow for quiet contemplation after a walk through the six galleries. Exhibits feature international contemporary art of the last four decades.  Hawaii's contemporary artists share equal prominence in the museum's programs and exhibitions.

The Honolulu Academy of Arts (532-8700), 900 S. Beretania St., maintains one of the most important assemblages of Asian art that can be found in American museums. But its 30 galleries are almost equally divided between Western and Asian works.

The Hawaii State Art Museum, 250 S. Hotel St., is within walking distance of Chinatown and is an art collection for public places collected by the state. Its ongoing exhibition features the work of more than 100 Hawaii artists.

The U.S. Army Museum at Ft. DeRussy in Waikiki contains a collection of war memorabilia including helicopters, tanks, guns and vacant bunkers. Once a bastion built to protect Hawai'i from invading forces, the structure now houses a museum that tells the military story of Hawai'i, from ancient times to the Gulf War and the War in Iraq. Each of these hostilities is covered graphically in separate displays with photographs and sound effects.

An exhibit featuring General Eric K. Shinseki showcases his decorated military career. General Shinseki / originally from Kaua'i, is the first Japanese-American soldier to become the Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

The museum, which is closed on Mondays, is part of the Fort DeRussy reserve and recreation complex and occupies the former Battery Randolph built in 1911. One of six coastal implacements built on Oahu by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, it was built so well that when workers tried to demolish it with a wrecking ball in 1969, the concrete sides actually smashed the ball instead, so they decided to turn it into a museum.

For surf buffs, the Hale'iwa Surf Museum in the North Shore Marketplace is a fun stop.

On the way to the Pali Lookout, you might want to stop for a tour of Queen Emma's Summer Palace. Surrounded by a lush garden, the palace was built in 1843 as a summer retreat for Queen Emma, the wife of King Kamehameha IV. In 1913, plans were announced to tear down the palace and build a baseball field. The Daughters of Hawai"i Preservation Society stepped in and saved it from destruction.

The palace, just five minutes away from downtown Honolulu in Nu'uanu Valley, is now maintained by the Society as a museum.

The Judiciary History Center, located in Ali'iolani Hale, was originally designed in 1869 to be a "house of Kings," but King Kamehameha V decided that the kingdom needed an administrative center more than a grand palace. The building is designed in Renaissance Revival style, and is gorgeous to behold. The Center features a restored courtroom and exhibits that trace Hawaii's transition from Hawaiian law to the post-contact western law.

Browse Hawaii's Premiere Museum

For more than a century, the Bishop Museum, at 1525 Bernice St. in Honolulu, has been the premier research institution of the Pacific's natural and cultural history. Rooted in Hawaii's rich cultural heritage, the museum attracts nearly 400,000 people a year.

It was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha family. Established to house the Princess's extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts and royal family heirlooms, the museum has expanded to include millions of artifacts, documents and photographs about Hawai'i and other Pacific island cultures.

Today, it is recognized throughout the world for its cultural collections, research projects, consulting services and public educational programs.

The museum's Science Adventure Center is the only facility in Hawai'i dedicated to showcasing the latest in scientific technology and research. Exhibits focus on topics such as oceanography, volcanology, biodiversity and ecology. In a highly interactive environment, visitors will feel the heat of a volcano, control a submersible ROV and learn more about Hawaii's fascinating natural environment.

Science On A Sphere, a new permanent exhibit, features a 68-inch, 200-lb. Fiberglass sphere suspended from an aluminum structure, which serves as a 3-D movie screen to display full-color, animated images from satellites and other sources.

If you're curious about ancient Hawaiian star navigation techniques, try the museum's planetarium where shows air twice a day.

The Polynesian Hall is a gallery of two floors representing the peoples of Pacific cultures across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. Explore the Polynesian origins of our islands' people in these fascinating artifacts of ritual, daily life, warfare, religion, clothing, music and dance.

The Hawaiian Hall, a popular feature of the museum, is currently undergoing extensive restoration and renovation. The three-story gallery, which was completed in 1903, is expected to reopen again in mid-2009. The Hall houses Hawaiian cultural objects given to the museum by Hawaiian royalty.

Bishop Museum has the largest collection of Hawai'i and Pacific area artifacts in the world, however many of the most precious items are unable to be displayed due to the Hawaiian Hall's unacceptable conditions. The first priority of the renovation will be to restore the Hall and bring it up to modern conservation and accessibility standards so that the museum’s many Hawaiian treasures can be displayed.

The Picture Gallery will be restored as a window into the nineteenth century. Pieces from the Museum's extraordinary collection of oil paintings and rare books from the museum library will be displayed on a rotating basis.

During the renovation, the Castle Memorial Building will continue to display national traveling exhibitions and special museum collection exhibits, and the Science Adventure Center and Planetarium will be open for tours and ongoing programs.

The museum offers a wide variety of tours and demonstrations on a daily basis and special exhibitions throughout the year. If there is time for only one museum visit, the Bishop Museum is the one. For more information, call 847-3511.

NOTES:  The Honolulu Academy of Arts is very easy to get to using The Bus (numbers 2, 13, or B).  The other museums are best to simply drive there!

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