Bishop Museum and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Host City Nature Challenge Event

# Bishop Museum and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Host City Nature Challenge Event

Event supports global community science effort to document biodiversity around the world.

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, in partnership and in collaboration with the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is hosting a City Nature Challenge event at the Museum's campus this Sunday, May 8 from 1-4 p.m.

The City Nature Challenge is a global community science effort to document biodiversity around the world, and involves two parts:

• April 29 – May 2:

An Observation Period, where participants take pictures of plants and animals around their neighborhoods, and upload them to the iNaturalist community science platform.

• May 3-8:

An Identification Period, where participants log on to iNaturalist and help identify the uploaded photos made during the Observation Period.

The City Nature Challenge event at Bishop Museum on Sunday, May 8 falls within the Identification Period, and will provide Museum visitors the opportunity to engage with the Museum's Natural Science collections and learn how to identify the plants and animals commonly found across Oʻahu. They will also be able to conduct their own biological surveys throughout the Museum's 15-acre campus, meet and learn from the Museum's researchers and conservationists, and participate in the Challenge as community scientists.

"It's incredibly important as a museum and as biodiversity scientists that we include the community in what we do. The City Nature Challenge is the perfect way to show how community scientists can actively participate in collecting data with us, which ultimately leads to conservation management decisions," said Dr. Chandra Earl, event co-organizer and biodiversity informatics and computational biology fellow at Bishop Museum. "We wanted to hold this event to give people the chance to come meet us, learn what it is we're doing and how they can get involved, while also teaching them how to identify what's in their own backyards."

"Bishop Museum is very pleased to once again support the City Nature Challenge, and appreciative to be doing so with our partner, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa," said Dr. Allen Allison, director of natural sciences at Bishop Museum. "The Museum holds the world's largest collections of plants and animals from Hawaii, around five million specimens. Many of the species that occur in our state were in fact discovered and named by Museum scientists. The Museum's collections and the scientists who manage and study them are crucial resources for the identification of the organisms that are photographed during the City Nature Challenge."

"The City Nature Challenge is growing into one of the world's most important sources of data about where species occur and how their distributions are changing as climate change and urbanization both proceed," said Dr. Robert Thomson, event co-organizer and graduate program chair in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. "It also provides a fantastic way to learn more about the natural world that surrounds us, while working together with communities here in Hawaiʻi to better protect our unique flora and fauna. We're excited to partner with Bishop Museum in doing this."

The City Nature Challenge event at Bishop Museum is free with Museum Admission. More information can be found at BishopMuseum.org/calendar/city-nature-challenge.

Bishop Museum Admission, Parking, and Hours

Timed General Admissions can be booked on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at BishopMuseum.org/Tickets. Tickets for Bishop Museum After Hours events can be purchased via this same webpage.

The safety and health of our visitors and employees remain our highest priorities. Face masks are optional but strongly encouraged.

General Admission | Hawaiʻi Residents, Hawaiʻi College Students & Military with ID Adults: $24.95 | Adults: $14.95 Seniors (65+): $21.95 | Seniors (65+): $12.95 Youth (4–17): $16.95 | Youth (4–17): $10.95 Children (3 and under): Free | Children (3 and under): Free

Children age 16 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Bishop Museum Annual Membership levels include free general admission and parking for 12 months. Learn more at BishopMuseum.org/Membership.

*Parking Rates* Daytime Rate: 6 a.m.–5 p.m. $5.00 Evening Rate: 5 p.m.–10 p.m. $3.00

*Hours* Open every day from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day

Bishop Museum Café by Highway Inn offers a limited menu of bowls, sandwiches, and snacks from 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m. daily. Bishop Museum Members receive a 10% discount with their membership card.