IV.

Education and Culture

In 1907 the University of Hawaii was established as the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts at its present location in Manoa, just northeast of Waikiki (see University of Hawaii at Manoa). The University of Hawaii—West Oahu, in Pearl City, is also part of the University of Hawaii System, which comprises ten regional campuses around the state. Other major universities in and around Honolulu include Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University of Honolulu, and the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University.

The state’s largest museum, the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, is located in Honolulu. It contains a large collection of Polynesian archaeological artifacts, as well as many exhibits on Hawaiian history and culture. The museum also has an extensive entomological collection with more than 13 million specimens. Other important museums include the Honolulu Academy of Arts, known for its extensive collection of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean art; the Contemporary Museum, with exhibits of modern art and photography; and the Mission Houses Museum, which comprises three buildings from the early 1800s that once housed missionaries. Other cultural institutions in Honolulu include the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, a complex containing an arena, an exhibition hall, and a theater-concert hall, which serves as the home of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.

Because of the large military presence in Honolulu, the city is home to several important military memorials. Within Punchbowl, an extinct volcanic crater directly behind the city’s central business district, is the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Thousands of U.S. servicemen who died during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War are buried there. In addition, the USS Arizona Memorial, in Pearl Harbor, commemorates those killed during the Japanese attack in December 1941.

Honolulu hosts many annual festivals and celebrations. These include the Narcissus Festival in Chinatown (January or February, part of the celebration of Chinese New Year), the Cherry Blossom Festival (March), Lei Day (May), the 50th State Fair (June), Aloha Festivals (September and October), the Hawaii International Film Festival (November), and the First Night Celebration (December). In addition to these important cultural events, indigenous Hawaiian culture is expressed through hula, the traditional dance of the Hawaiian Islands; chants, types of which range from sacred chants about the creation of the world to love chants and chants performed for fun; and music. Many musicians and hula halau (hula schools) are devoted to the preservation and continuation of Hawaiian music and culture. Asian dance, theater, and music are also well represented in Honolulu.