Hawaii Maritime Center

After closing in 2009, The Hawaii Maritime Center has reopened under new ownership by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, which has chronicled life in the Hawaiian islands for over 125 years. Located at Pier 7 in Honolulu's historic harbor, the Hawaii Maritime Center proudly resumes its place as an important educational and cultural resource in the preservation of the rich maritime heritage that is so vital to Hawaiian history.

Exhibits will take visitors back to the days when the first ancient Polynesian mariners came to the Hawaiian islands 1500 years ago, through to the time when Captain Cook arrived, with artifacts on these historic events. The exhibit of the enormous and magnificent Pacific Humpback Whale skeleton is one of the most important and popular in the museum.

The carcass, which washed up on the shores of Kaho'olawe in 1986, was carefully handled so that the remains of 159 bones could be reconstructed and restored. The whale was named Lei'iwi, which means "Lei of Cherished Bones" in the Hawaiian language and is one of only a few humpback whale skeletons in the world.

The Hawaii Maritime Center is also home to the world's only remaining four-masted, fully-rigged ship named the Falls of Clyde. This outstanding ship was built in 1878 for the oil industry and is registered as a National Historic Landmark. Visitors can also view the voyaging canoe, Hokule'a, a vessel of great importance to native maritime culture.

This special exhibit entitled The Canoe: An Alaskan and Hawaiian Tradition, was produced in cooperation with the Alaskan Native Heritage Center and funded by the U.S. Department of Education to portray a comparison of Hawaiian and Alaskan voyaging canoes, the materials used in construction and the unique traditions between two cultures that have relied on the ancient skill of canoeing for generations.