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Pacific Tsunami Museum, Hilo, HI

Photo: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Museums

Pacific Tsunami Museum

Hilo museum focused on tsunami history and public tsunami education, especially the 1946 and 1960 waves that hit the Big Island.

130 Kamehameha Avenue, Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720 · Hilo, HI

About Pacific Tsunami Museum

Located in downtown Hilo on the Big Island, this museum tells the story of the April 1, 1946 Pacific tsunami and the May 23, 1960 Chilean tsunami, which caused heavy damage along the island's east coast, particularly in Hilo. Its wider aim is teaching visitors about tsunamis in general, including the 2004 Indian Ocean event. The museum presents itself as a living memorial to people who died in earlier tsunamis, and it runs education programs meant to reduce future tsunami deaths. Its website also offers survivor stories, archive images, and tsunami safety information.

  • #tsunami
  • #history
  • #education
  • #Hilo
  • #Big Island

What's around here?

The closest stops to Pacific Tsunami Museum, ordered by straight-line distance.

  • Shopping

    Prince Kuhio Plaza

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    A large enclosed shopping mall in Hilo on Hawaii's Big Island, with many stores and restaurants.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    2.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Nani Mau Gardens

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    Commercial botanical gardens in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, known for tropical plantings and event hosting.

    4.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Akaka Falls State Park

    Under $25

    Walk a short paved loop through rainforest to see ʻAkaka Falls drop 442 feet into a gorge, plus Kahūnā Falls along the way.

    9.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors

    World Botanical Gardens

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    A commercial botanical garden on Hawaii's Big Island with a large waterfall, a big hedge maze, and an arboretum.

    13 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sightseeing

    Lava Tree State Monument

    Check prices

    A small Puna District park where hardened molds mark where trees once stood in a forest buried by lava.

    21 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

    $25–$50

    Drive and hike around Kīlauea's summit caldera, then follow Chain of Craters Road down to the sea.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    23 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

Near Pacific Tsunami Museum

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