The Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in tribute to his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was the last descendant of the Kamehamehas. The museum was built on the site of the Kamehameha School for Boys, which had been established by Princess Bernice. After her death, Charles Reed Bishop started the museum to showcase the Kamehameha family heirlooms and other Polynesian artifacts. The school eventually moved, allowing the Bishop Museum to expand, and it has grown over time so that it now houses a rather massive collection. One of the important pieces is a historic Heiau Ku carving - there are only two others, in the Peabody Essex Museum

classic

Peabody Essex Museum

Salem, MA

Museum & Store

5.5

in Salem, MA, and in the British Museum

in London. The museum also features a section dedicated to what they call "Ku Kitsch," known to us as Polynesian Pop, with many fine examples of modern uses of the image of Ku, including a mug from Tiki Farm

How to find it

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pictures

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Comments

Shop99er

Shop99er is a semi-regular at Bishop Museum.

November 20, 2015, 10:08 PM

If you're going here to see tiki, you'll succeed. If that's the only reason you come here, you are wasting your time.

This is a grand place to learn about Hawaiian culture and history. Everytime we go to Hawaii, we budget a full day for the Bishop.

PackmanWSU01

PackmanWSU01 has visited Bishop Museum.

July 8, 2012, 11:45 PM

Worth the visit just to see one of the Ku statues, and some ancient tikis. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

TikiJohn

TikiJohn has visited Bishop Museum.

August 14, 2010, 5:49 PM

If you want to see the history of Hawaii, it's formation as a state (and the incredible underlying political machinations), then this is the place to go to. The museum is definitely a destination for tiki lovers. Also has south pacific & chinese art & history.