Founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the museum preserves royal heirlooms and extensive cultural, archival, scientific, and natural-history collections from Hawaii and the Pacific.
The historic complex preserves the 1821 Mission House, the 1831 Chamberlain House, an annex, archives, and a cemetery. Interpretation addresses missionary families, Native Hawaiian collaborators and opposition, literacy, printing, religion, language, and the profound changes that followed sustained foreign settlement.
Completed in 1882, Iolani Palace served as the official residence and ceremonial center of the Hawaiian monarchy under King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani. The palace also bears witness to the overthrow of the kingdom, the queen's imprisonment, government use, dispersal of collections, and later restoration.
Hanaiakamalama served as a mountain retreat for Queen Emma, King Kamehameha IV, and their son Prince Albert. Furnishings, personal objects, architecture, and stewardship by the Daughters of Hawaii connect the property to royal family life and Hawaiian national history.