Announcements
Dinosaurs Return to Bishop Museum!
Bishop Museum announces Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep, a new exhibit featuring oceanic and aquatic reptiles from the Mesozoic Era, opening Saturday, May 24, 2025.
# Dinosaurs Return to Bishop Museum!
New exhibit, Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep, unveils the captivating stories of oceanic and aquatic reptiles from the Mesozoic Era.
Are you ready to explore the Jurassic seas? Bishop Museum, the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is excited to announce the return of dinosaurs to Kaiwiʻula in its new exhibit, Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep, opening Saturday, May 24, 2025.
For the first time on Oʻahu, guests will be able to experience, up close and personal, oceanic and aquatic reptiles from the Mesozoic Era — along with favorites like the T-Rex and Stegosaurus. Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep guides guests through the fascinating chronicles of oceanic dinosaurs, answering key questions along the way such as what they ate, where they lived, and how we know they existed.
"We're thrilled to bring dinosaurs back to our campus for our local ʻohana and visitors to enjoy," said Brandon Bunag, Ed.D., Bishop Museum vice president of public programs and interim director of education. "This exhibit sparks the imagination and provides keiki with the opportunity to explore the prehistoric world. As much as Bishop Museum shares the culture and history of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific to the world, traveling exhibits such as Expedition Dinosaur bring the world to Hawaiʻi."
Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep, designed by Stage 9 Exhibits and co-produced with Brad Evans, Bishop Museum director of Exhibits, features lifelike animatronic dinosaurs with realistic movement and sound along with interactive elements throughout the exhibit, including:
- Journey to the Deep Theater, a completely immersive journey through time with state-of-the-art lighting and sound
- Tools and equipment to scan for fossils in rocks and simulate a fossil dig
- A Bell Ranger 47J interactive helicopter display
Ahead of the opening of Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep on May 24, 2025, Bishop Museum will host the following preview opportunities:
Media Preview
Bishop Museum invites members of the news media to a pre-opening, closed-door preview of Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep, with access to the newly completed exhibit.
- Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep Media PreviewThursday, May 22, 20251-4 p.m.Bishop Museum Castle Memorial Building
Interview opportunities:
- Brandon Bunag, Bishop Museum vice president of public programs and interim director of education
Please RSVP with Lance Aquino via the contact information above.
Bishop Museum Member Preview
The Member Preview is an exclusive evening event where Bishop Museum Members can enjoy food, take part in dino-themed activities, and explore the new exhibit before it opens to the public.
- Dinosaurs Exclusive Member PreviewFriday, May 23, 20255:30-9 p.m.Bishop Museum Castle Memorial Building and Gallery Lawns
Expedition Dinosaur: Into the Deep will be on view from May 24, 2025 through January 25, 2026. For more information, visit BishopMuseum.org.
Bishop Museum would like to thank Major Sponsor Pasha Hawaii and Contributing Sponsor First Insurance Company of Hawaii for helping make this exhibit possible.
About Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Bishop Museum’s mission is to inspire our community and visitors through the exploration, celebration, and perpetuation of the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. The Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a royal descendant of King Kamehameha I. Today, the Museum thrives as an educational center for the community and is widely regarded as the world’s premier institution for Hawaiian and Pacific content.
Bishop Museum’s vast collections of more than 25 million objects and specimens represent nine disciplines and include more than 22 million biological specimens, over 2 million cultural objects, 115,000 historical publications, and 1 million photographs, films, works of art, audio recordings, and manuscripts. These collections tell the stories of the cultures and biodiversity of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific as well as the proud legacy of scholarly research spanning 130 years.
Bishop Museum proudly serves more than 200,000 visitors each year, including 20,000 children on school visits. Guests are encouraged to pre-plan their trip to #HawaiisMuseum with its free digital guide, available through Bloomberg Connects.
To learn more about the Museum’s research, collections, exhibits, and programs, visit BishopMuseum.org, follow @BishopMuseum on Facebook and Instagram, visit Bishop Museum’s YouTube channel, or call (808) 847-3511. Bishop Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Bishop Museum is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, and welcomes applicants from the military, veterans, and those with disabilities. Learn about careers at Bishop Museum at BishopMuseum.org/Careers and on its LinkedIn page.
Bishop Museum Press is Hawaiʻi’s oldest book publisher and one of the first scholarly publishers in the Western Hemisphere, and has published over 1,200 titles and distributed over 1 million books in 72 countries worldwide. Bishop Museum hosts a restaurant and gift shop on campus, Tūtū’s Place by Highway Inn and Shop Pacifica by Nā Mea Hawaiʻi.