Bishop Museum

Bishop Museum, on Bernice Street in Honolulu, is the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the State Museum of Natural and Cultural History of Hawaiʻi. Charles Reed Bishop founded it in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha family, to house her collection of Hawaiian objects and royal family heirlooms. Serving and representing the interests of Native Hawaiians is a primary purpose of the museum. Hawaiian Hall rises from the Hawaiian gods, legends and the world of pre-contact Hawaiʻi, through the realm where people live and work, to the aliʻi and key moments in Hawaiian history. Pacific Hall explores Moananuiākea, the wide expanse of Oceania, and interactive science exhibits focus on Hawaiʻi's environment, including volcanology, oceanography and biodiversity. The Kāhili Room displays the feather standards associated with cherished aliʻi, and the Nā Ulu Kaiwiʻula Native Hawaiian Garden shows plants important to Hawaiian culture. The J. Watumull Planetarium was instrumental in the recovery of traditional, non-instrument navigation in Hawaiʻi, and its tickets are sold on site with museum admission. Ticket prices change with the day of the week and seasonal demand, and the museum takes credit cards, not cash. Parking on site is paid and first come, first served, and from Waikīkī the School St./Middle St. bus stops at School and Kapālama Streets. Heavy backpacks and travel luggage are not allowed in the exhibit spaces and can be checked at the Admissions Desk for a fee. The campus is single-use plastic-free, so bring a refillable water bottle, and service dogs must be announced at the Admissions Desk, while other animals are not allowed.