About the Museum

With nearly 400,000 visitors each year, Bishop Museum serves as one of Hawai'i's top destinations, providing hands-on educational experiences to help residents and visitors appreciate and embrace Hawai'i's rich culture. By combining education, history, and culture, the Museum strives to fulfill a mission that was set with its founding in 1889, "to study, preserve and tell the stories of the cultures and natural history of Hawai'i and the Pacific."

The Bishop Museum was originally designed to house the extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts and royal family heirlooms of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The Museum has since expanded to include millions of artifacts, documents and photos about Hawai'i and other Pacific cultures.

Daily programs let visitors discover more about Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures through live, interactive presentations and exhibit tours. Planetarium shows showcase Polynesian skies and how voyagers navigated using the stars to sail the Pacific. Or experience one of the interactive traveling exhibits. Updated schedules and information is available at www.bishopmuseum.org.

In the new Science Adventure Center, visitors can control volcanic eruptions, pilot a deep sea rover, see lava melting demos, or walk-through the vivid environment of the Hawaiian Origins Tunnel. Opened in November of 2005, the Bishop Museum Science Adventure Center is the only themed science center in the United States. At the core of the Center's theme is Hawai`i's unique lands, surrounding oceans and skies which it highlights through highly interactive displays, creating a connection between the science and the wonders themselves.

Bishop Museum also houses prestigious research facilities, the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame, native gardens, changing cultural exhibits featuring contemporary Native Hawaiian artists and intriguing storylines, and more. Authentic Hawaiian and Pacific books and gifts can be purchased in the Bishop Museum Shop, including books published by Bishop Museum Press. See the heritage of Hawai'i come to life at Bishop Museum.

Science Adventure Center Where you can explore an active volcano, see molten lava glowing before your eyes, and transform into a rainforest bug.

Rates are per person including 4.712% state tax.

Cancellation Penalties: For all optional vacation tours - activities and tour routings are subject to change without notice. Generally tours canceled outside of 48 hours will not have cancel penalties. No shows are subject to no refund. Tours missed due to illness will be entitled to a full refund if physicians papers are submitted.