Aquariums, Museums & Learning Centers

The Mokupāpapa Discovery Center
The Mokupāpapa Discovery Center (MDC) managed by NOAA was created to interpret the nature, culture, and history of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Located on the waterfront in downtown Hilo, MDC is free and open to the public, and features a large-scale wall map, interactive displays and kiosks, three-dimensional models, submersible mock-up, immersive theater, salt-water aquarium, colorful graphic panels with interpretive text in both Hawaiian and English, beautiful photographs from the NWHI, a giant coral reef mural, and several life-size models of NWHI wildlife. For more information, click here.

Waikīkī Aquarium
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands exhibit at Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu features corals and fish like the masked angelfish and an as-yet identified endemic angelfish. Visit www.waquarium.org.

Bishop Museum
The Bishop Museum in Honolulu has several kiʻi (carved stone images) from Mokumanamana on display in the Hawaiian Hall. The Science Annex has an exhibit featuring deep sea research in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and a deep diving virtual reality game. Visit www.bishopmuseum.org.

Nantucket Whaling Museum
The Nantucket Whaling Museum in Nantucket, Massachusetts has an exhibit featuring artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Two Brothers whaleship, whose master was George Pollard, also captain of the ill-fated Essex, which was the inspiration for Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. Visit www.nha.org.