Bishop Museum Installs Hawaiian Electric Fast Chargers on its Campus

# Bishop Museum Installs Hawaiian Electric Fast Chargers on its Campus

Additional units bring the total number of electric vehicle chargers at the Museum to four, as part of its ongoing effort to provide sustainable options for its neighborhood and the community.

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi — Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, through a partnership with Hawaiian Electric, has installed two fast chargers on its campus. The additional units bring the total number of electric vehicle chargers at the Museum to four, as part of Bishop Museum's effort to provide sustainable options for its neighborhood and the community.

"We're excited to partner with Hawaiian Electric to install these additional chargers on our campus," said Chris Hobbs, Ph.D., Bishop Museum curator of sustainability. "A major goal of Bishop Museum's Sustainability initiatives is to provide sustainable options for our Kalihi-Pālama neighborhood and our island community as a whole. One of the main challenges facing more widespread adoption of electric vehicle use is access to chargers; we wanted to ensure our EV chargers are available to everyone, not just our museum guests, to help contribute to more widespread public access to electric vehicle charging in Hawaiʻi."

"Hawaiian Electric is honored to collaborate with Bishop Museum to provide greater access to electric vehicle charging for both museum visitors and the broader community making the transition to EVs," said Aki Marceau, Hawaiian Electric's director of electrification of transportation. "We are excited to demonstrate how infrastructure can amplify art and show the alignment between our efforts to decarbonize Hawaiʻi's electricity and transportation sectors and Bishop Museum's commitment to institute sustainable practices."

In August, Bishop Museum upgraded the two electric vehicle chargers in its ʻEwa parking lot to the faster-charging Level 2, or public charging, to encourage community use of these units. The two new fast chargers are located at the Museum's main visitor parking and can charge an EV even faster, getting an 80% charge in an hour or less.

Additionally, the fast chargers feature an artistic design representative of Hawaiian Electric's and Bishop Museum's sustainability vision by local artists Matthew Kawika Ortiz and Roxanne Ortiz, the husband-and-wife creative duo who paint under the name Wooden Wave.

"In approaching the sustainability narrative of this project, we were inspired by how stewardship or mālama is critical to maintaining a thriving ahupuaʻa," said Mathew and Roxanne Ortiz of Wooden Wave. "Our image seeks to represent the partners' long-term sustainability goals by portraying a beautiful and healthy ecosystem. In particular, we focused on the notion of hoʻokuʻi or connectivity, as it relates to renewable resource management and community engagement."

Wooden Wave has collaborated with the Museum on several projects in recent years, including being featured artists in the Museum's POW! WOW! The First Decade: From Hawaiʻi to the World exhibition, to painting the Museum's two Little Free Diverse Libraries.

Bishop Museum's sustainability efforts have not only helped the Museum increase efficiencies in its operations while decreasing its overall carbon footprint, but also share information with the community through events such as its annual Science and Sustainability Festival, as well as provide access to resources such as its electric vehicle chargers. The Museum has plans to further its efforts through a new program addressing food resiliency called Hua Kaiāulu or "community fruit," utilizing fruiting plants on the Museum's campus.

"Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Island cultures have long had an acute understanding of how to be responsible stewards of their environment, before the advent of modern science," said Brandon Bunag, Ed.D., vice president of public programs and interim director of education at Bishop Museum. "Our aim is to establish an Indigenous worldview as foundational, share what we know and are working on, and encourage a renewed respect for the ʻāina."

Media Opportunity

Bishop Museum invites members of the media to a blessing of its new electric vehicle fast chargers:

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 10-11 a.m. Bishop Museum Main Visitor Parking Lot

Please RSVP with Lance Aquino via the contact information above.

Attending / interview opportunities:

• Brandon Bunag, Bishop Museum vice president of public programs and interim director of education
• Chris Hobbs, Bishop Museum curator of sustainability
• Kiani Jones, Hawaiian Electric product manager, public charging
• June Chee, Hawaiian Electric program manager, electrification of transportation
• Matthew Kawika Ortiz, Wooden Wave
• Roxanne Ortiz, Wooden Wave

Bishop Museum Admission, Parking, and Hours

Timed General Admissions can be booked for arrivals between 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., or for arrivals between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Once a timed admission is booked, guests may arrive at any time during their check-in window. All admissions, once checked in, are welcome to stay until 5 p.m.

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. Learn more on our Health & Safety page.

General Admission

| | Weekdays | Weekends | |---|---|---| | Adults: | $26.95 | $28.95 | | Seniors (65+): | $23.95 | $25.95 | | Youth (4-7): | $18.95 | $20.95 | | Children (3 and under): | Free | Free |

Hawaiʻi Residents, Hawaiʻi College Students, and Military with ID

Adults: $14.95 Seniors (65+): $12.95 Youth (4-17): $10.95 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.

J. Watumull Planetarium tickets can be purchased at the Box Office after admission to the Museum; shows are free for Bishop Museum Members, but must be obtained at the Box Office in person on a first-come, first-served basis.

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 and on 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.