Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

10/23/2026

You’re invited to celebrate the life, work, and enduring legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui with us on Nov. 7, 2026.

In this special program presented in partnership with the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, “Nānā i ke Kumu 2026: He Hoʻoilina Ola Ka Hula” celebrates traditional hula carried through the Pukui hula lineage: a living legacy of movement, mele, language, lore, and ʻike passed from generation to generation.

View newly restored archival footage from the 1940s that include the premiere of films capturing Mary Kawena Pukui and her daughters Patience and Pele demonstrating traditional hula. Gather with us on our Great Lawn as archival film, audio, photographs, narration, mele, and live hula come together to illuminate this ʻike as more than a record of the past, but rather, as a living hula legacy that endures today. The Lei Hulu Hula School, led by Kimo Alama Keaulana, will perform select hula in dialogue with archival footage, bringing the movements preserved on film into the present.

Nānā I Ke Kumu: He Hoʻoilina Ola Ka Hula, Presented by the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority
The Living Hula Legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui Through Archival Film, Audio, Photographs, and Hula (1930–1945)

Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026
6–8 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)

Location: Bishop Museum Great Lawn

$25 General Admission, FREE for ages 13 and under. Bishop Museum Members receive a 50% discount.

Learn more and register at BishopMuseum.org/nana-i-ke-kumu-he-ho%CA%BBoilina-ola-ka-hula.

This program is generously supported by Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority and the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society.

Image: Mary Kawena Pukui performing “Mūkīkī Wai” (in a film); Hawaiʻi. Still photo by Tiki George, from a film by Vivienna Mader. Bishop Museum Archives. SCP 103645.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

In partnership with the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, Bishop Museum invites you to celebrate the life, work, and enduring legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui, a foundational pillar of Hawaiian knowledge and cultural revitalization.

10/22/2026

Happy ! Bishop Museum's Ethnology Department helps care for some of the Museum's treasured cultural resources.

This pāpale pua kō (sugarcane tassel hat) belonged to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. It features a closed braid with a fancy edge on one side, resulting in an elaborate texture.

The hatband on this pāpale, made of dyed purple and yellow feathers, is assembled to look like a flower lei. In Hawaiʻi, feathers have long been associated with aliʻi, appearing in chiefly garments like ahu ʻula (feather capes). The use of feathers in Pauahi's hat is, perhaps, a creative ode to that chiefly connection.

Learn more about this pāpale at Mau ka Leo, Bishop Museum's online storytelling space: BishopMuseum.org/MauKaLeo

Interested in learning more about the Ethnology Department's work? Come visit our webpage at BishopMuseum.org/Ethnology.

Images: 05074. Photos by David Franzen, Bishop Museum Archives. Q 219646 and Q 219648.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

10/21/2026

Coming in November! We’re excited to once again partner with World Wide Walls and their network of local and international artists to bring you “UNDER/GROUND” on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026.

Created by World Wide Walls Co-directors Jasper and Amy Wong, together with Bishop Museum Exhibit Designer DeAnne Kennedy, “UNDER/GROUND” juxtaposes two separate worlds and the spaces where they intersect, examining the relationships between fine art and street art, insider and outsider art, and how cultural value is then assigned and perceived.

Be prepared to explore all-new murals, original artworks, sculptures, and immersive installations in our Castle Memorial Building this fall!

Learn more and see details for the Grand Opening events at UnderGround.BishopMuseum.org.

Mahalo to our generous supporters that helped make this exhibition possible:
Hawaiian Airlines, White Sands Hotel, Montana Cans, 7-Eleven Hawai‘i, Zippy’s, XLARGE, Aloha Petroleum, Hawaiian Telcom, Thinkspace, Begin Here, Omidiyar ‘Ohana Fund, City Mill, Sun Bum, Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, Hawaiian Sun, UNIQLO, Enjoy Snacks, Sean Marrs Photography, Elyse Butler Photography, Brandon Shigeta, InnerBloom, Redefined.Media, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Art + Flea, Tūtū’s Place by Highway Inn, and PCL Construction.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

10/20/2026

Many archival photos of Hawaiian landscapes include unidentified people. This photo of two women near Moku Ola (Coconut Island) in Hilo Bay is an example of one such image cared for at the Museum.

In these collections are numerous images show pairs of women on the edges of vast terrains. Sometimes looking at the land, sometimes working with it, their companioned presence in the scene is thought-provoking.

We wonder about their lives, their relationship to each other, and their relationships to the ʻāina that surrounds them.

View this story and other moments in history at BishopMuseum.org/MauKaLeo!

Mau ka Leo is our online storytelling space that documents, preserves, and shares the priceless knowledge and stories around Bishop Museum’s collections. Many of these stories come from our most valuable resource, our very own staff.

“Two Women in a Landscape” is written by Emma L. M. Bornstein.

Image: Two Hawaiian women on the rocks at Moku Ola (Coconut Island) in Hilo Bay; Hawaiʻi. Bishop Museum Archives. SP 203474.

Image-sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives [at] BishopMuseum [dot] org.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

10/19/2026

Aloha Nūhou Monday! Dear Reader, the newspaper business was difficult enough without having to worry about people following the basic rules for submissions to be published. Newspapers like the Hoku o ke Kai would publish their rules to make their readership aware of proper formatting.

[Excerpt]

Some Rules for Writing to the Newspaper.

Rule 1—Write in black ink on regularly ruled white paper.

Rule 2—Do not write from one corner to the other, but leave about 1 to 1½ inches on the left side of the paper without writing within that area.

Rule 3—Do not write on the second side of the paper, but leave that side, and resume writing on the third side, and count that as side two.

Rule 4—Number each page that you write on, lest there be confusion and lack of clarity.

Rule 5—Write with good penmanship, clearly, and without smudging.

Rule 6—Make all paragraphs clear.

Rule 7—If you make a mistake writing, do not erase the words with your hand, but strike through with ink from your pen.

Rule 8—For italics [hua italia], draw a single line below; for small capital letters, two lines; and for uppercase letters, three lines.

Rule 9—Do not use abbreviations which the typesetter will not understand.

Rule 10—After everything you want to write is set, read it once more to see if it is good or not.

Rule 11—Do not sign your name using a pseudonym.

Read our blog and the rest of today’s story, plus view images of original newspapers at: blog.bishopmuseum.org/nupepa. “He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers” is an ambitious, multi-year collaboration between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu, with contributions from Kamehameha Schools.

Image: Detail of dingbats printed on sheets and affixed to the inside front cover of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, year 1864, copy 3.

Image-sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives [at] BishopMuseum [dot] org.

10/18/2026

Join our ʻohana of Bishop Museum Volunteers!

Do you have a passion for sharing stories about the natural and cultural history of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific? The Winter 2026 Education Docent Volunteer Program trains members of our community to engage with visitors, local families, and Museum members through the extraordinary natural and cultural history of Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific region.

Training sessions will include lectures, workshops, activities, and assignments to introduce cultural and scientific content as well as Museum front-of-house and visitor interaction protocol.

Winter 2026 Education Docent Training
Oct. 29 – Nov. 21, 2026
Thursdays 5-8p and Saturdays 9a - noon

To apply, visit https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?AP=1818509481. When applying, please select “Education Docent Program 2024” under the “Assignment Preference” dropdown menu.

We’re so thankful to all of our docents and volunteers who honor Pauahi and her vision of education and sharing knowledge with our community.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

10/17/2026

Spend your Saturday outside with our behind-the-scenes native garden tour on Oct. 24, 2026!

Join expert botanist Miles Thomas on an in-depth tour of Bishop Museum’s garden, learning how to identify native and canoe plant species along the way. We’ll also be discussing the cultural and historical significance of some of the plants on campus.

After the tour, participants will be gifted a native Hawaiian plant to take home, as well as have the chance to talk story with Miles and try Hawaiian-grown ʻawa.

Behind-the-Scenes Native Garden Tour
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026
10 a.m. - Noon

Included with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.

This workshop is part of Bishop Museum’s ʻāina-based community experiences, educating and connecting the public with our ʻāina in the Museum’s open air learning spaces.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

10/17/2026

Celebrate 50 years of Aloha ʻĀina with Laʻa, Maʻa, Paʻa, a campuswide concert and celebration on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026!

Come share your memories of Kahoʻolawe, learn about Kanaloa’s rich history, and jam to artists and musicians who have created mele inspired by Kahoʻolawe! Performing artists include Keahi Piʻiʻōhiʻa, Pōkiʻi Seto, Kiliona Young, Kaʻikena Scanlan, Kimié Miner, and Ikaakamai Nahuʻewai.

With this event presented by Bishop Museum and the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana, we recommit ourselves to the essential value and ethic of aloha ʻāina, and we’re excited to convene many of our partner organizations meeting the challenges facing aloha ʻāina today. Partners include organizations protecting Hawaiʻi’s public lands facing expiring military leases.

50 Years of Aloha ʻĀina Concert and Celebration: Laʻa, Maʻa, Paʻa!
Friday, Nov. 13, 2026
5-9 p.m.

Location: Great Lawn, campuswide

General Adults $35, ʻŌpio (Ages 11-17) $10, Kūpuna (65+) $10, and FREE for Keiki (Ages 10 and below). Proceeds from the concert go directly to the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana.

Learn more and register at BishopMuseum.org/PKO.

Mahalo nui loa to the Atherton Family Foundation, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaiian Council, and KS Kaiāulu for their support of this program series.

Photo: Kiliona Young and Kimié Miner develop mele on Kuhikeʻe at Kealaikahiki. Photo by PF Bentley.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

Bishop Museum is proud to partner with the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana to host a series of presentations in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the landing of the "Kahoʻolawe Nine" at Kūheʻeia on the island of Kahoʻolawe.

10/16/2026

If you have yet to experience “Ea Mai ʻEiwa: Patterns of Practice,” don’t miss out! This compelling exhibition has been extended through February 12, 2027.

Included in the lineup of items being rotated in are five of Nālani Kanaka’oleʻs pā’ū designs, along with four newly made pā’ū made by her Hālau o Kekuhi ‘ōlapa (students).

Learn more at BishopMuseum.org/Eiwa.

“Ea Mai ʻEiwa” is a powerful exhibition featuring the work of Nālani Kanakaʻole (1946-2026), Sig Zane, and Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane — a Hilo-based family of artists whose creative practices are deeply rooted in hula ʻaihaʻa.

As dedicated members of Hālau o Kekuhi in Keaukaha, Hawaiʻi, their work across visual and performing arts is continually charged and sustained by hula. From Nālani Kanakaʻole’s art direction and choreography to Sig Zane’s photography and textile design, and Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane’s graphic design and immersive installations, each artist channels ‘ike (knowledge) carried through generations.

“Ea Mai ʻEiwa: Patterns of Practice” is presented with the generous support of Hawaiian Airlines, First Hawaiian Bank, Matson, Mellon Foundation, Servco Pacific Inc., Min Plastics and Supply Inc., Outrigger Resorts, and Shibby Stylee.

Bishop Museum is the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History.