Bishop Museum September 2024 Exhibitions, Public Programs, and Events

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History, shares its September 2024 exhibitions, public programs, and events. A full and continually updated listing can be found on the Museum's website, BishopMuseum.org. For more information on any of the items listed herein, please contact Lance Aquino with Stryker Weiner & Yokota Public Relations, Inc.

September sees the return of the annual Honolulu Intertribal Powwow to Bishop Museum's Great Lawn! Plus, continue celebrating Makahiki o Nā Manu Nahele, the Year of the Forest Birds, with special programming during Museum After Hours.

September 2024

• OngoingKa ʻUla Wena: Oceanic RedCastle Memorial BuildingIncluded with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Ka ʻUla Wena: Oceanic Red explores manifestations of red in the landscapes, memory, and created expressions of Oceania. Ka ʻUla Wena originates in Hawaiʻi, but we reach out to embrace our cousins across the vast Moananuiākea.The phrase "ka 'ula wena" refers to a glowing red, one whose warmth envelops Hawaiʻi each day, first at Kumukahi, the storied easternmost point of the Islands. It is the strength of the sun but also the bounty of reds found in the plants and animals it nourishes. Ka 'ula wena is a red experienced beyond seeing. This redness is felt in mele (song), moʻolelo (stories), and the wena (warmth) of kinship. Red conveys a constellation of ideas densely populated by meaning. Red, beyond color, shade, or hue, elevates the senses, shifts emotions, affirms kinships, enlivens passions, consecrates the sacred, and sets apart the profane.Ka ʻUla Wena: Oceanic Red celebrates the distinctly unique reds of Oceania and the redness of our connection.
• Through Sept. 15, 2024 | ExhibitionCorned Beef & KaloJ. M. Long GalleryIncluded with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Corned Beef & Kalo features Pisupo lua afe (Corned beef 2000) by Michel Tuffery, and KALO by Bernice Akamine. The exhibition brings together two iconic works of contemporary art to consider how artists make visible issues related to agricultural subsistence, environmental sustainability, and everyday life where food imports and structured land use intertwine.
• Ongoing | ExhibitLalo: Science and Conservation in the Northwestern Hawaiian IslandsScience Adventure CenterIncluded with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Lalo: Science and Conservation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands tells the cultural and scientific significance of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) as the kūpuna islands of Hawaiʻi. The exhibit features "The Ongoing Legacy of Coral Reef Exploration," "The Lalo Plastic Story," as well as 2D and 3D digital experiences that allow visitors to view terrestrial and underwater scenes and experience them as a series of immersive storylines about PMNM.
• Ongoing | ExhibitLele o Nā Manu: The Splendor and Loss of Hawaiʻi's BirdsScience Adventure CenterIncluded with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Lele o Nā Manu: The Splendor and Loss of Hawaiʻi's Birds features 47 exquisite carvings of endemic manu nahele by master craftsman, Haruo Uchiyama. The complete set of historically known Hawaiian honeycreepers will be displayed atop an original mural painted by local artist, Patrick Ching. The exhibit also includes a mural by Dr. Julian Hume depicting prehistoric Kīpahulu Valley, Maui; fossils of extinct Hawaiian bird species; and an interactive game.The opening of Lele o Nā Manu coincides with Ka Makahiki o nā Manu Nahele, the Year of the Forest Birds, a campaign to celebrate and raise awareness around Hawaiʻi's native forest birds.
• Ongoing | InstallationFaith and Philanthropy: Queen Emma Kaleleonālani in EnglandHawaiian HallIncluded with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Between 1865-1866, Queen Emma Kaleleonālani departed Hawaiʻi for a year-long journey to England, her first and only international voyage. Her journey had a specific mission: fundraising for the construction of St. Andrew's Cathedral, the seat of the Anglican Church in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Faith and Philanthropy: Queen Emma Kaleleonālani in England highlights research identifying items associated with Queen Emma's travel and fundraising strategies, utilizing objects from multiple Bishop Museum collections to demonstrate not only the richness of Emma's journey, but also the social, religious, and political spaces she navigated as a Hawaiian royal.
• Ongoing | InstallationsCampus MuralsThroughout the Museum campus.Included with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Bishop Museum's outdoor murals provide an immersive art experience that bridges traditional culture, creative expression, and indigenous perspectives. The initial round of murals was completed in 2021 in conjunction with the special exhibit POW! WOW! The First Decade: From Hawaiʻi to the World, and was expanded in May 2023 during the Hawaiʻi Walls Mural Festival in Kalihi. The additional murals were inspired by the Kalihi community, local histories, and Bishop Museum's cultural and scientific collections and resources.
• Thursdays-TuesdaysPlanetarium ShowsJ. Watumull Planetarium$3 with General Admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Join us in the J. Watumull Planetarium at Bishop Museum to connect with the environment and peoples of the Pacific region, the expanse of our universe, and the stories we pass on from generation to generation.2024 Fall Planetarium Shows:
  • "The Hawaiian Sky Tonight"
  • "Wayfinders: Waves, Winds, and Stars"
  • "3-2-1 Liftoff!"
  • "Eyes on Island Earth"
• September 2024 Sky Map | Online Resource (also attached to this release)Free downloads for personal use.You and your ʻohana can try your hand at backyard astronomy! The monthly Sky Maps from our J. Watumull Planetarium show the sky above Hawaiʻi from about 8-10 p.m. HST. Hold the Sky Map above your head to align all four directions and discover which stars and constellations are visible this month.
• Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Public ProgramʻUla Nōweo Reflection SeriesCastle Memorial BuildingIncluded with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.ʻUla Nōweo refers to the glowing red witnessed at the rising, or setting, of the sun; times of the day especially suited for reflection. Inspired by our exhibition Ka ʻUla Wena: Oceanic Red, the ʻUla Nōweo Reflection Series offers artists, scholars and community leaders of Hawaiʻi an opportunity to meditate upon manifestations of the color red in their own traditional practices and contemporary lives. Join us for this series of expositions, readings and expressions of practice, intended to inspire further contemplation and conversation.
• Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, 5-9 p.m. | Public ProgramMuseum After Hours: I Mau Ka Leo ManuThroughout the Museum campus.$10 pre-sale, $15 at the door for General Admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.Continue celebrating Makahiki o Nā Manu Nahele, the Year of the Forest Birds, with us at Museum After Hours! Experience an exclusive presentation of Tony Piedra and Mackenzi Joy's picture book, "Pau: The Last Song of the Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō," brought to life in our J. Watumull Planetarium with projections of vibrant illustrations and recordings of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō's song. There will also be a special performance by the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and a showcase of Climate Champion projects.
• Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, 10-11 a.m. | Public ProgramKanikapila ma KaiwiʻulaNā Ulu Kaiwiʻula Native Hawaiian GardenIncluded with Museum admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.E hoʻokani pila pū kākou! Join members of the ʻUkulele Guild of Hawaiʻi in our Nā Ulu Kaiwiʻula Native Hawaiian Garden. Bring your ʻukulele or borrow one. Learn new techniques, share moʻolelo, or just enjoy the music as ʻUkulele Guild of Hawaiʻi leads guests through selections from "He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook."
• Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, 6-7 p.m. and 7:30-8:30 p.m. | EventThe Stars TonightJ. Watumull PlanetariumCapacity is limited, and registration is required. $10 General Adult, $7 General Youth. Children 3 and under are free but will be expected to share a seat with an adult or guardian. 50% discount for Bishop Museum Members.Come study the stars, travel across the Earth and into our solar system, and share stories with us in our J. Watumull Planetarium! For September's program, enter our Trivia Dome and test yourself with quiz questions spanning topics such as astronomy, natural sciences, and pop culture. Families are encouraged to join us for the 6 p.m. show as questions increase in difficulty for the 7:30 p.m. show. Snacks and drinks available for purchase.Stargazing on the Great Lawn with the Hawaiian Astronomical Society begins following the first show, weather permitting.
• Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22, 2024, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Public Program48th Annual Honolulu Intertribal PowwowGreat Lawn$5 General Admission, pre-registration recommended. Admission for Bishop Museum Members is free with pre-registration and membership ID.The Honolulu Intertribal Powwow, presented by the Hoʻopili Tribal Council (formally known as the Oahu Intertribal Council), is a vibrant cultural celebration that brings together American Indian, Alaska Native, and First Nations people. Each year, hundreds of people gather to celebrate Native American heritages, pass on Indigenous traditions, build communities, and learn about Native American cultural diversity.Please note that this is a two-day festival. To attend both days, you must purchase admission for both Saturday and Sunday — just $5 per person, per day!

Looking past August, Bishop Museum is also excited to preview the following upcoming exhibits and public programs in 2024:

• Oct. 5 | Kū a Lanakila! Expressions of Sovereignty in Early-Territorial Hawaiʻi (exhibition)
• November | Kāhuli Festival 2024
• Fall/Winter 2024 | Updates to Science on a Sphere ("SOS") Rotunda exhibit

Bishop Museum also holds Daily Programs for all guests, as well as in-person J. Watumull Planetarium shows. Its Signature Galleries include Hawaiian Hall, Pacific Hall, Picture Gallery, Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kāhili Room, Nā Ulu o Kaiwiʻula Native Hawaiian Garden, Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center, and Campus Murals. For more information, please visit BishopMuseum.org.