Tags
alfred shaheen, Barbara Kawakami, Betty Kam, Bishop Museum, Camille Shaheen-Tunberg, Castle Memorial Building, Connecting Threads, Docents, East Meets West, Hawaiian Hall, HI Fashion: The Legacy of Alfred Shaheen, Kamehameha I, Leslie Wilcox, Long Story Short, native hawaiian garden, paki hall, Picture Brides, Polynesian Hall, Richard Mamiya Science Adventure Center, sports hall of fame, Textured Lives: Japanese Immigrant Clothing from the Plantations of Hawai‘i, The Watumull Planetarium, Tradition and Transition: Stories of Hawai‘i Immigrants, travel, vacation
Tourist Tuesdays are about seeing your everyday world with the eyes of a tourist.
For the past month or so, my Tuesday afternoons have been belonged to the Bishop Museum. We are in the midst of docent training that “Connects the Threads” of three different exhibits: Tradition and Transition (Immigrant Lives), Textured Lives (Immigrant Clothing) and HI Fashion (Alfred Shaheen).
Castle Memorial Building
E Komo Mai.
Nau Ka Hale
Museum Campus
I have long loved the Bishop Museum, but I’ve never been as involved with it as I have during my current Hawaiian tenure. The museum has expanded over the decades. Hawaii Hall showcases historic artifacts and representations of the lives and ways of Kanaka Maoli from ancient times into the 20th century. Hawaiian Hall re-opened after extensive restoration in 2009. Polynesian Hall is set to reopen Summer of 2013 and will relate the migration of people, pigs, dogs, and chickens along with their plant staples from Southern China through Melanesia, Micronesia and then developing in to the modern Polynesian cultures. The Watumull Planetarium offers both a glimpse of the Sky Tonight and educational programs on the importance of the night’s sky to Polynesian voyaging.
The Sky Tonight: Every 1st and 3rd Friday from 8p-9p. Call 848.4168 for reservations. This fall the planetarium will be closed for restoration.
The Richard Mamiya Science Adventure Center, Na Ulu Kaiwi’ula Native Hawaiian Garden, and Paki Hall are the other main areas open to visitors. Paki Hall is home to the Sports Hall of Fame as well as the Library and Archives.
Castle Memorial Building
Castle is the home of special exhibits. The first floor houses an ever-changing assortment of smaller sized, special exhibits. Sesame Street Presents: The Body and Facing Mars were the last two to occupy that space. Click here for more information on past exhibits.
The third and fourth floors of Bishop house some of the archived artifacts as well as the archivists who work diligently in preservation and research. Betty Kam took us on a third floor field trip today. It is always an awe-inspiring venture. I touched a fine mat that Kamehameha I had used. Chicken flesh, goose bumps, whatever name you call it. I had plenty and the chills of excitement that go with them.
Tradition and Transition:
Stories of Hawai’i Immigrants (Fall 2011-Summer 2013)
This is the exhibit that I trained for last October before it opened. Peter is truly the star docent. I recommend that you stop by and talk story with him about the exhibit on Wednesday afternoons. If you want my take on the exhibit, come see me on Sundays. The exhibit touches on the time period when sugar was king. Lots of inconvenient truths and little known historical tidbits. Be prepared to be moved in unexpected ways.
Textured Lives:
Japanese Immigrant Clothing from the Plantations of Hawai’i (Aug 18th-Oct 15th)
Friday Evening Special Events: Aug 18th, Sept 21th, & Oct 12th
The special opening of the exhibit will be this Friday night for our donors and VIPs. Yes, another exciting gala night for me. I love the sight of the Friday night Waikiki fireworks from Museum Campus in Kalihi! Best spot for them.
Of course the biggest treat and reward for working all weekend is to be witness to the boundless energy of Barbara Kawakami. Click here for an audio recording of Barbara and Leslie Wilcox talking story on Long Story Short. Her story is truly fascinating. And the stories she tells of Picture Brides and plantation women through their fashion and textiles is truly remarkable. The exhibit will be completed on Friday. Click here to peek behind the scenes.
Hi Fashion:
The Legacy of Alfred Shaheen (Opens Nov 10)
Alfred Shaheen was a fashion and business innovator. His daughter, Camille, has been very generous in preserving and sharing her father’s legacy. Aloha wear as high fashion was his creation. His influence extended beyond Hawaii to the Mainland, indeed throughout the world. His East Meets West displays in department stores coined the phrase and introduced off-the-rack designer wear to the world. Aloha shirts, the Bombshell dress, Tiki dresses, silk screening as a major fashion technique. In a word, innovative. The website Camille curates at AlfredShaheen.com is a great place to whet your appetite for what is coming next to Castle.
For more information on upcoming exhibits, check out the official Bishop Museum website.
Which of the different museums in the Bishop Museum Campus is your favorite? Tell us a story of your favorite museum. Which exhibit at Castle speaks to your interests? Talk story with us. Leave your comments below.
To the best of my knowledge… I try to put this caveat in because my first introduction to Samoan culture was Margret Mead’s best seller, Coming of Age in Samoa. I read it as a Tween because the public librarian knew I was interested in far away places. Around that time, I also read Kon Tiki which theorized that Polynesians drifted by accident to populate the Pacific Islands. That was the late 60s and early 70s when plate tectonics was still considered a crazy new notion by many. By the late 70s and early 80s when I attended UH a whole other set of paradigms was in ascendency. So of course, I wonder the as the source of some of my factoids…to see if they are still au courant. No shame in correcting me here in the comment section. I actually welcome the discussion.
I left a critter out of the animal line up in the post above. Can anyone tell me what I left out? Polynesians brought pigs, dogs, chickens and one more interesting mammal. A Coco Puff to whomever can answer that correctly.
The Polynesian rat. (Please send coco puff to Paia, Maui.) These exhibits sound wonderful. Hope I get a chance to see them!
Winnah-Winnah-Chicken-Dinnah! Shannon, come see the exhibits, and I will meet you with Coco Puff in hand. You like ‘em Coco Puff, Cream Puff, or (my favorite) Green Tea Puff?
Makes you wonder why people would intentionally bring rats along. I have my theories, but…
Oh I loved listening to Barbara – she’s got so many interesting stories to tell!
Mahalo for taking the time to hit the link. I thought Leslie did a great job as per usual in bringing out Barbara’s personality. The exhibit based on Barbara’s work will only be at the Bishop for a couple of months. I hope to see you there.
Oops, I forgot to fill in my name!
Anyway, good post Lori. Can’t wait for the opening this weekend (I’ll be attending as a guest, but call on me if you guys need extra help!)
Hey Trish,
Very excited about this weekend. Jacquie says that their is a terrific spread in today’s paper. Have to run out and get it. See you soon.
Very, very good Lara. You are so thorough. You have gotten quite a background on those coming to the islands in the 1800′s. I more or less have stuck to the hall and not as specific as I used to. Too many kids tours has started to make me apathetic. I could tell them just about anything and they wouldn’t even notice. Of course I don’t. anyway, great post.
Sorry to hear that, Karen. With kids, a lot of what we do has to incubate a bit before we know how much they absorb. I’ve talk to so many adults who talk excitedly about going to the Bishop as a kid. They might not be able to recite a detail but the overall experience seems to have had a big impact on them. If I don’t see you this weekend, I hope to see you for the First Tuesday Noon event. Brown-bagging and if you want bring a desert to share. I’ll bring enough Coco Puffs to cover myself and others. (Geez, you’d think I’d get a discount!)
No Monday through Thursday I home school my 16 year old grandson and pick up my youngest from school by 1:30. So those days are out the door for me. Retirement is not for the timid, I tell you.
Shootz! One day. I’m taking the Hawaiian language classes on Sunday, but I figured you’d be busy with family then too. Maybe we can do lunch some Friday.
Man. One of these days I’m gonna have to get my butt out there. You make me very aware of how much I’m missing!
Thanks for linking this up with the TALU, Lara!
I love living here, but then again there aren’t too many places that I didn’t love living in. Always so much to do and see. Give me a holler if you head this way. I’ll buy you a Coco Puff at Liliha Bakery.
I can’t tell you the last time I went to a great museum. Supposedly there are some great ones about 2.5 hours away but we haven’t ventured that far. In the last 8 years for sure I’ve only been to a kid’s museums. The “how stuff works” kind. I would love to visit one like this with “historical” things to look at. Thanks for the share. What island are you on? I’ve been to the big island twice, but we didn’t venture far from walking distance of where we stayed the first time. The second time we had friends that were stationed there so we got more of an island tour.
Were you on the Big Island [Hawaii Island] or O’ahu? Most of the military bases are on O’ahu although Hawaii Island does have some military installations…mostly training centers. I’m on O’ahu. Upper Liliha which is between Punchbowl National Cemetery [very close] and Ft Shafter [maybe 3/4rds farther]. I am within walking distance to both the Bishop Museum and the Honolulu Museum of Art…and since Iolani Palace and the State Museum of Art is between the two, I’m pretty museum saturated. I like it that way. Thanks as always for dropping in, Kenya.