Bishop Museum Announces Science & Sustainability Festival 2026

# Bishop Museum Announces Science & Sustainability Festival 2026

This year's event focuses on Makahiki Kuleana Kahakai: The Year of Our Coastal Kuleana

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi — Bishop Museum, the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History, announces its annual Science & Sustainability Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year's Festival places special focus on Makahiki Kuleana Kahakai: The Year of Our Coastal Kuleana, and also hosts the Museum's 2026 symposium, Mālama Maʻawe Iho: Fibers in Focus.

The Science & Sustainability Festival, a Bishop Museum Signature Public Program, features interactive activities for all members of the ʻohana (family), along with special presentations and exhibition highlights. Guests can learn directly from scientists, cultural practitioners, and community organizers on the frontlines of biodiversity research and conservation efforts across the Hawaiian Islands.

Highlights of the campuswide event include:

• $5.00 online registration for kamaʻāina and military with ID
• The opportunity to meet and engage with Bishop Museum researchers and view animal and plant specimens from the Museum's collections
• More than 40 community partner booths including federal, state, and city agencies, as well as local conservation and sustainability groups
• Access to all of Bishop Museum's exhibitions and galleries, including Aloha Bricks '26: Stories of Hawai'i and Ea Mai 'Eiwa: Patterns of Practice
• The debut of two new additions to the Science Adventure Center, including a Marine Invasive Species display and Cave Arthropod lava tube exhibit (both on the first floor)
• J. Watumull Planetarium shows
• Special programming

"We're honored to welcome our partners and neighbors to the Science & Sustainability Festival, an annual event where science, culture, and community action unite to protect the unique biodiversity of ko Hawaiʻi pae ʻāina ('the Hawaiian archipelago')," said Taylour Chang, Bishop Museum director of public programs and community engagement. "This year's Festival theme is especially poignant as we address how we can protect our coastal ecosystems and communities in light of climate change and the impactful storms we've experienced in recent months."

Makahiki Kuleana Kahakai: The Year of Our Coastal Kuleana

Hawaiʻi has more than 1,000 miles of tidal coastline with an incredible variety of habitats, including wetlands, dunes, beaches, tidepools, nearshore ocean waters, coral reefs, and offshore islets. These habitats are rich with life, from plants and limu (seaweed) to coastal birds, insects, fish, and coral.

As island communities, we are stewards of our shores, helping ensure our coastlines are clean, that we recreate responsibly, and that our coastal ecosystems and species can be sustained into the future. Makahiki Kuleana Kahakai: the Year of Our Coastal Kuleana celebrates our deep connections with and kuleana (responsibility) towards our tidal coastlines.

Related programming at the Science & Sustainability Festival:

• 10:30 a.m., Great Lawn Stage | Coastal Kuleana: Storms & Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Environments and Communities. Organized in collaboration with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), this panel will include Leah Laramee (Hawai'i Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation Commission), Carlos Mozo (Lāhui Foundation), Jordan Lerma (Division of Aquatic Resources), Administrator James Barros (Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency), and moderator Joshua Atwood (Department of Land and Natural Resources).
• 12:30 p.m., Great Lawn Stage | Coastal Kuleana: Threats to Coastal Birds. Organized in collaboration with the DNLR, this presentation discusses the most pressing threats and predators facing our coastal birds and wildlife — from the impacts of light pollution on seabird fallout. to reigniting hope for our ʻalae ʻula (Hawaiian moorhen) with only 700 remaining.

Bishop Museum 2026 Symposium | Mālama Maʻawe Iho: Fibers in Focus

Organized in partnership with Arizona State University and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Bishop Museum's annual symposium celebrates the natural fibers of Hawaiʻi.

During the Science & Sustainability Festival, the public sessions of the Symposium will focus on three species: niu (Cocos nucifera), olonā (Touchardia latifolia), and hau (Talipariti tiliaceum). Found in different parts of Hawaiʻi's landscape, these plants play pivotal roles in conservation efforts for diverse ecosystems. They are also culturally significant, both in the past and in the present. This program shares a deeper understanding of the human and plant kinship, and the impacts these plants have in knowledge systems throughout Hawaiʻi.

• 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Atherton Hālau

City Nature Challenge Social

The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an annual event where cities around the world compete to document biodiversity on iNaturalist to bring communities together to celebrate and learn about nature, capture a yearly 'snapshot' of biodiversity, and promote community science.

Following this year's CNC on Oʻahu, Bishop Museum will host a social gathering for CNC participants, nature nerds, and anyone who wants to learn more about biodiversity, to connect in person and share stories over food, drink, fun activities, and a special presentation.

• 3-5 p.m. in the Gulab & Indru Watumull Atrium, Hawaiian Hall Complex

A full list of community partners participanting in the Science & Sustainability Festival can be found below. For more information including a full schedule of activities and presentations, and to purchase tickets, please visit BishopMuseum.org/SSF26.

Mahalo nui loa to the Atherton Family Foundation for their generous support of this year's Science & Sustainability Festival.

Science & Sustainability 2026 Community Partners

Aloha Tree Alliance American Bird Conservancy Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Response Conservation Council for Hawaiʻi Conservation Dogs of Hawaiʻi DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife DLNR Division of State Parks, Lēʻahi | Diamond Head State Monument Friends of Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge Hawaiʻi Audubon Society Hawaiʻi Electric Vehicle Association Hawaiʻi Energy Hawaiʻi Nature Center Hawaiʻi State Climate Commission Hawaiʻi State Energy Office Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization Hawaiʻi Wildlife Center Honolulu Board of Water Supply Honua Scholars HPU Center for Marine Debris Research Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi and Oʻahu Water Protectors Ka Poʻe Lawaiʻa Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project Know Your Rights Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership Lyon Arboretum Mālama Kai Foundation Mālama Maunalua Moanalua Gardens Foundation NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee Oʻahu Plant Extinction Prevention Program Ocean Music Action Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project Pop-Up Lab for STEM Punahou School, Climate Future Forum Storm Water Hawaiʻi Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Worm Lab University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program Waiʻanae Mountains Watershed Partnership Western Pacific Fishery Management Council