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Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI

Photo: Mark Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

MuseumsHistory BuffFamily FavoriteRainy-Day Pick

Bishop Museum

1525 Bernice St · Honolulu, HI

Why you should go…

Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. In Hawaiian Hall, Polynesian artifacts sit in koa wood cases beneath a complete sperm whale skeleton hung over the central gallery. The campus also holds the Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium and the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center, with interactive exhibits on marine science and volcanoes. Its natural history holdings exceed 24 million specimens.

  • #hawaiian history
  • #natural history museum
  • #planetarium
  • #polynesian culture
  • #science center

Good to know

General museums guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Check the special exhibition separately

    Touring shows usually carry their own ticket and their own opening hours, listed apart from general admission.

  • Look for the free window

    Many museums run community days, member evenings, or discounted late openings. It is worth a look before you pay full price.

  • Travel light through the door

    Large bags and backpacks often have to go to a coat check, and lines for it move slowly at opening.

  • Weekday mornings beat weekend afternoons

    School groups clear out by early afternoon midweek, while weekends stay busy from late morning on.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Bishop Museum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Aloha Tower

    Free

    See the 184-foot tower that has stood over Honolulu Harbor since 1926, then eat and stroll at the marketplace below.

    1.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    ʻIolani Palace

    $25–$50

    Tour the throne room, state dining room and private royal suites of the palace of Hawaii's last reigning monarchs.

    2.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    Rainy-Day Pick

    Honolulu Museum of Art

    $25–$50

    Wander 32 galleries and six courtyards holding more than 55,000 works of art from Hawaii, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

    2.5 mi awayMore like this

  • Shopping
    Rainy-Day Pick

    Ala Moana Center

    Free

    Browse more than 350 shops and restaurants at an open-air Honolulu mall, with hula performances on Centerstage.

    3.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

  • Shopping
    Free

    International Market Place

    Free

    Shop and eat beneath a preserved banyan tree at an open-air shopping center on Kalakaua Avenue in the heart of Waikiki.

    4.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

  • Museums
    Iconic

    Battleship Missouri Memorial

    $25–$50

    Board the 887-foot battleship where Japan surrendered in 1945 and stand on the Surrender Deck at Ford Island.

    5.7 mi awayMore like this