To insulate windows in their historic building and protect their collections, Bishop Museum staff first had to remove plywood that had been previously installed. Image courtesy of the Bishop Museum.
Founded in 1889, the Bishop Museum is world-renowned for collections that document the cultural and natural history of Hawai‘i and Polynesia more broadly. In the past, NEH funding to the museum has supported the development of an internship program and the creation of exhibitions that interpreted Hawai‘i’s history for the public. With a more recent NEH grant, the museum has created a master preservation plan for the Archaeology Collections that will help preserve and expand its collections for future generations.
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NEH funding helped the Bishop Museum install insulation on windows in its historic building in order to protect its collections. Image courtesy of the Bishop Museum.
Thanks to adaptations made with NEH funding, the Bishop Museum’s collections are protected from extreme temperatures. Image courtesy of the Bishop Museum.
The Bishop Museum’s archaeology collection contains more than 2 million objects and specimens that document the human history of the Pacific islands. But both the museum’s island environment and its location in historic buildings are obstacles to preserving its collection. In addition to contending with insects and humidity, staff have to manage temperature and sunlight exposure in buildings that are difficult to remodel or modify. With NEH funding, a team of consultants assessed the collections and their storage conditions, making recommendations for immediate changes as well as preparing a plan for changes the museum will implement over time. The funding also supported one of the most important, immediate changes, helping staff construct insulated window coverings that protect collections from the extreme heat of the afternoon sun and maintain a more moderate temperature in the storage space.
The Bishop Museum’s Hawaiian and Pacific archaeological collection is the largest of its kind in the world, and proper stewardship of the collection is enabling the museum to continue making this collection accessible to the Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders whose cultural heritage it represents.
