Bishop Museum

The Bishop Museum is a museum of history and science founded in 1889. It is the largest museum in Hawai’i and has the most extensive collection of Polynesian cultural artifacts and natural history specimens.

The museum’s holding of natural history specimens exceeds 24 million, of which the entomological collection alone represents more than 13.5 million specimens making it one of the largest insect collections in the USA.

The museum was built on the original boys’ campus of Kamehameha Schools, an institution created at the bequest of the Princess, to benefit native Hawaiian children.

In 1898, Charles Reed Bishop, a businessman, and philanthropist had Hawaiian Hall and Polynesian Hall built on the campus.

Bishop developed the museum in memory of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831–1884). She was born into the royal family and was the last legal heir of the Kamehameha Dynasty, which had ruled the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi until 1872.

Bishop had initially intended the museum to house family heirlooms passed down through the royal lineage of his wife.

Officially named the “Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum,” it is designated the Hawaiʻi State Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

Highlights of the Bishop Museum

A complete sperm-whale skeleton and model
Prized koa wood display cases
Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style
The museum library with an extensive collection of books and special collections concerned with Hawai’i and the Pacific
Historic photographs, artwork, and oral histories
Hawaiian Royal genealogical records, and memorabilia
Specimens of insects and related arthropods
Feathered cloaks (‘ahu ‘ula) and helmets that were worn by Hawaiian royalty
Papua New Guinea Sawos people men’s spirit house gable
Hawaiian Artworks
Hawai’i and the Pacific Canoe models
Collection of Pacific Spears
Bishop Museum – Planetarium