Explore an active volcano or create a brightly colored rainbow or how about exploring a young Island underwater! You can do all these and more when visiting the new Science Adventure Center at the Bishop Museum located in Honolulu Hawaii. The Bishop Museum is Hawaii’s largest Museum with 16,000-square-feet of area to explore and is also the premier natural and cultural history institution of the Pacific. The Science Adventure Center is dedicated to highlighting the natural wonders of Hawaii’s culture, fauna, geography, insects and organisms above and below the sea through hands-on–experiences in oceanography, geology, entomology, botany, and volcanology. The uniqueness of their exhibits make this museum different from any other museum in the world. It is a really awesome place to explore.
The Pu’u O’o volcano is modeled after the Kilauea volcano’s active vent. The Kilauea volcano is located on the Big Island of Hawaii. While exploring the Pu’u O’o volcano at the Science Adventure Center you get to experience the signature hot spot of the Center. There is a 26-foot man-made walk-through that is really cool and quiet an awesome experience. This realistic-looking volcano erupt’s several times a day, spewing what looks like hot molten rock lava. You really get to physically experience the heat. You also get to explore the infrastructure of the volcanic lava plume as it pumps hot magma. It is a really exciting thing to experience. Photo Credits: © Bishop Museum
Something that is also a lot of fun is when you get to crawl through volcanic caves and tangled hanging roots while getting to discover indigenous creatures hidden within the volcanic crevices. It is totally cool to see!
After visiting the Pu’u O’o volcano you can enjoy an adventure of the Deep Ocean Tank. Visitor’s get to pilot remote-controlled submersibles and observe a dioama of Hawaii’s youngest undersea volcano. The undersea volcano Lo’ ihi is located off the southeastern coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. This is a great learning experience for all ages. Visitors can pump up hot wax ( magma ) to form their own volcanic islands. You also get to try your hands at mapping the ocean floors using sonar.
You can also learn about the natural and cultural origins of the Hawaiian Islands by walking through the 160-foot darkened Origins Tunnel. Experience images of plants, animals and ancient cultural symbols that are illuminated by ultraviolet light while listening to traditional Hawaiian origin chants that are found in Hawaii’s natural settings. There is also creative glowing artwork throughout the tunnel created by schoolchildren that gives it a glowing touch. For those of us who enjoy science to it’s fullest can have fun in the Living Islands Gallery.
Observe the Bishop Museum research scientists as they select a specimen for examination using four different methods of cutting-edge investigative technology: the Taxonomic Key; simulated DNA analyzer; an Electron Microscope and Ecology analysis. The Living Islands Gallery feature’s changing habitats with rare native species, including “good guys” (native) such as the koa bug, carnivorous caterpillar and wolf spider, and “bad guys” (invasive aliens) such as centipedes, cockroaches and invasive fish.
Then adventure over to the Rainbow Bridge, this is a really exciting area to explore. You get to see how to create a rainbow, and Hawaii has some beautiful rainbows. I had the pleasure to see a full double rainbow that went all the way to the ground while visiting the Islands. Being able to see how one is created is really a neat experience. The Science Adventure Center has an area that visitors can create their own brightly colored rainbows. Rainbow Bridge allows visitors to create brightly colored rainbows by activating a rainmaker stowed in a larger-than life tree house within a stylized Hawaiian rainforest.
This is a wonderful place to visit and is a treasured resource of Hawaiian history and heritage. Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop as a tribute to his wife Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha dynasty. Bishop Museum is located at 1525 Bernice Street, the Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except Christmas)
By Judy Worley
Plan Your Trip:
To discover all there is to experience, download the official state app, and plan your trip, visit the Go Hawaii website!