Culture gets Hi'lani Shibata, Bishop Museum education supervisor, moved to Waikiki to be closer to the new museum branch at Hilton Hawaiian Village. And a good thing, too. When intruder alarms sound in the middle of the night, Shibata is the first person they call to get down to the museum and find out what's going on.
a lite serving
Bishop Museum's new Hilton
Hawaiian Village branch offers a
mini introduction to Hawaii historyBy Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.comInvariably, it's a false alarm as the electronic bugs are worked out. Or are they?
"Some of the artifacts here are very old and have strong memories attached," Shibata said. "At nights, the spirits get out and play."
The museum branch is like a miniature version of Hawaii Hall in the scope of its collection, and in the narrowing of the museum's mission statement. The focus is on Hawaiian culture and history, with a sprinkling of Waikiki pop culture for seasoning. It's Bishop Museum Lite, just right for those who want their local culture served up in an hour or less.
The museum is seen from the outside as a cluster of pavilions atop a one-story mountain and waterfall where the old Dome used to be. The museum proper, however, is in the Kalia Tower immediately behind the pavilions.
The view of Waikiki from the pavilion area is both spectacular and intimate. Since the museum and pavilions can be leased for events, it's likely to become a natural for corporate Christmas parties and other swell dos.
The bright, mica-concrete cheerfulness of the exterior -- with Hawaiian plants and upcoming interactives on canoeing and astronomy -- gives way to a formally dark interior, walls of red or green like a Victorian flashback, an all-black overhead hiding the plumbing and koa-wood framings. The artifacts are lit like shrines, and the sheer formality of the decor causes visitors to drop their voices.
Bishop Museum Waikiki
Where: Hilton Hawaiian Village Kalia TowerHours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Admission: $11.95; free for museum members
Call: 946-9478
The artifacts are well-chosen to give a Cliff-Notes introduction to Hawaiian culture, which focuses primarily on the Victorian/prehistoric nature of changing Hawaii in the 1800s. Artifacts are sometimes played off each other, such as a case filled with human-hair necklaces next to one filled with Victorian gewgaws and jewelry.
The signage is tasteful and well-written, if wordy. More pictures are needed to place the artifacts in context. For example, a shark's tooth sword is displayed like a piece of abstract artwork, considered only for itself and not in the realm of use. A picture of one Hawaiian disemboweling another with the weapon would save any number of too-careful captions.
Things brighten up considerably toward the end, with a playful history of Waikiki, a place for group events and a section devoted to Hawaiian water sports. Original, plank-like surfboards, including Duke Kahanamoku's, are displayed, as well as a luau setting with all-fake food that looks good enough to eat.
Parking is a problem: Try parking at Ala Moana Center and taking a bus or trolley.
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calendars and events.
