List of museums in Hawaii

Last updated

This list of museums in Hawaii contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Non-profit and university art galleries are also included. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (virtual museums) are not included.

Contents

Active museums

To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

NameLocationIslandSubjectSummary
Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum Kahului Maui IndustryHawaiian sugar plantation history and heritage
Anna Ranch Kamuela Big Island Historic houseHistoric ranch
ARTS at Marks Garage Honolulu Oahu Art website
Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center North Kona Big IslandScienceLocated at Kona International Airport, space science and artifacts of astronaut Ellison Onizuka
Bailey House Museum Wailuku MauiMultipleHistoric 19th century house museum with Hawaiian history and art, collection of land snails
Baldwin Home Museum Lahaina MauiHistoric house website, operated by Lahaina Restoration Foundation, mid-19th century missionary home
Bernice P. Bishop Museum HonoluluOahuMultipleArt, Hawaiian history and culture, Pacific cultures, science, Hawaii Maritime Center
Damien Museum HonoluluOahuBiographicalLife and works of Father Damien
East Hawaii Cultural Center Hilo Big IslandArtIn historic building that served as District Courthouse and Police Station
East-West Center Gallery HonoluluOahuArtPerformances and changing exhibits of traditional and contemporary arts of the Pacific region
Gallery ʻIolani Kaneohe OahuArt website, part of Windward Community College
Greenwell Store South KonaBig IslandLivingOperated by the Kona Historical Society, site of Henry Nicholas Greenwell (1826–1891) store
Grove Farm Lihuʻe Kauaʻi Historic house1860s sugar plantation
Hale Paʻahao LahainaMauiPrison website, operated by Lahaina Restoration Foundation, former Lahaina Prison
Hale Paʻi LahainaMauiMediaOperated by Lahaina Restoration Foundation, antique printing press equipment
Hana Cultural Center & Museum Hana MauiOpen air website, includes local history museum, historic courthouse, jail, and four authentic Hawaiian hale (houses)
Hawaii Children's Discovery Center HonoluluOahuChildren's website
Hawaii Keiki Museum Kailua-KonaBig IslandChildren's Science website
Hawaii Nature Center ʻĪao Valley MauiNatural history website, facility in Maui features museum exhibits; also an education center in Makiki Valley in Honolulu
Hawaii Plantation Village Waipahu OahuLiving website, story of life on Hawaii's sugar plantations (c. 1900)
Hawaii Science and Technology MuseumHiloBig IslandScience website, mobile science museum
Hawaii State Art Museum HonoluluOahuArtPermanent and temporary exhibitions of Hawaiian art
Honolulu Museum of Art HonoluluOahuArtAlso includes Spalding House with contemporary art
Honolulu Police Department Law Enforcement MuseumHonoluluOahuLaw enforcement website, evolution of law enforcement in Hawaii, operated by the Honolulu Police Department
Hoʻopulapula Haraguchi Rice Mill Hanalei KauaʻiMill website
Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center Makawao MauiArt website, includes fine art gallery
Huliheʻe Palace Kailua-Kona Big IslandHistoric houseFormer vacation home of Hawaiian royalty
ʻImiloa Astronomy Center HiloBig IslandAstronomyHawaiian culture and history, astronomy (particularly at the Mauna Kea Observatories), and the overlap between the two
ʻIolani Palace HonoluluOahuHistoric houseRoyal palace of King David Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani
Isaacs Art Center Waimea Big IslandArtArt museum of early and mid twentieth century Hawaii artists, also retail gallery, operated by the Hawaii Preparatory Academy
Jaggar Museum Kilauea Big IslandScience Geological museum dedicated to seismology & volcanology, at Kīlauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii HonoluluOahuEthnic website, history, heritage and culture of the Japanese American experience in Hawaii
John Young Museum of Art HonoluluOahuArtPart of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Asian and tribal art
Judiciary History Center HonoluluOahuHawaii's legal history; located in Ali'iolani Hale
Kauaʻi Museum Lihuʻe KauaʻiMultipleIncludes art and artifacts of Native Hawaiians, local and natural history artifacts, and art exhibits
Koa Art GalleryHonoluluOahuArt website, part of Kapiolani Community College
Kōkeʻe Museum at Kōkeʻe State Park Kekaha Kaua'iNatural historyNatural and cultural history of Waimea Canyon State Park and Koke'e State Park
Kona Coffee Living History Farm South KonaBig IslandLivingOperated by the Kona Historical Society, depicts coffee pioneer's story with daily lives of early Japanese immigrants during the period of 1920–1945
Lahaina Heritage Museum LahainaMauiLocal history website, operated by Lahaina Restoration Foundation
Laupahoehoe Train Museum Laupahoehoe Big IslandRailroad website
Lucoral MuseumHonoluluOahuNatural history website, corals, pearls, gemstones and fossils from around the world
Makawao History MuseumMakawaoMauiMultiple website, plantations, ranching, schools and churches, ethnic groups – the whole gamut of Makawao experience
Lyman House Memorial Museum HiloBig IslandNatural historyFeatures Hawaiian culture, shells and minerals
Maui Arts & Cultural Center Kahului MauiArt website, includes fine art gallery
Mission Houses Museum HonoluluOahuHistoric houseThree houses that interpret the "missionary period" of Hawaiian history, 1820–1863
Mokupāpapa Discovery Center HiloBig IslandNatural historyExhibits on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, now a National Monument, including fish and coral life
Nani Mau Gardens HiloBig IslandNatural historyBotanical garden with museum about tropical plants and their role in Hawaiian culture
Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Saddle Road Big IslandAstronomyOn the slopes of Mauna Kea, stargazing programs, information about the telescopes and astronomical work done there
Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor Ford Island, Hawaii OahuAviationLocated on Ford Island, includes historic aircraft, three historic hangars and an air traffic control tower
Pacific Tsunami Museum HiloBig IslandScienceHistory of the April 1, 1946 Pacific tsunami and the May 23, 1960 Chilean tsunami which affected Hilo
Parker Ranch Waimea Big IslandHistoric houseWorking ranch with tours of two historic houses
Polynesian Cultural Center Lā'ie OahuEthnicPolynesian-themed living museum with displays of culture and craft, operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park Hōnaunau Big IslandArchaeologyPark with complex of archeological sites and reconstructed temple and thatched structures
Puʻukohola Heiau National Historic Site Kohala Big IslandArchaeologyTemple ruins and exhibits
R. W. Meyer Sugar Mill Museum Kalae Molokai Industry information, information, also known as Molokai Museum and Cultural Center, historic sugar mill owned by Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer and museum
Queen Emma Summer Palace HonoluluOahuHistoric houseVictorian retreat for Queen Emma of Hawaii
Queen's Medical Center Historical RoomHonoluluOahuMedical website, exhibits about the founding of the hospital and the early days of medicine in Hawaii
Shangri La HonoluluOahuArtHistoric Doris Duke mansion with Islamic art, furnishings and decorative art; tours by reservation only
Tropic Lightning Museum Schofield Barracks OahuMilitary website, history of the 25th Infantry Division and Wheeler Army Airfield
University of Hawaii Art GalleryHonoluluOahuArt website
U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii Waikiki OahuMilitaryLocated at Fort DeRussy
USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor OahuMilitaryMemorial and museum about the sunken USS Arizona
U.S.S. Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park Pearl Harbor Oahu MaritimeWorld War II submarine and museum about submarines
USS Missouri Pearl HarborOahuMaritimeMuseum battleship
Waimea Sugar Mill Camp Museum Waimea KauaʻiLocal history information, history and culture of Hawaii's old sugar plantation communities and plantation tour
Waiʻoli Mission House Hanalei KauaʻiHistoric house1837 mission house
Washington Place HonoluluOahuHistoric houseHouse where Queen Liliʻuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, later Executive Mansion for twelve governors of Hawaiʻi
Whaler's Village Museum Lahaina MauiIndustry website, whaling industry exhibits and whale information
Wo Hing Museum LahainaMauiEthnicOperated by Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Chinese cultural history in Maui

Defunct museums

See also

Resources

References

  1. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/345 Roadside America report, 2008
  2. http://hawaii.gov/hnl/customer-service/historic-displays Honolulu International Airport: Historic Displays, accessed 1/28/2013
  3. "Honolulu Museum of Art | Honolulu Museum of Art".