The island of Oahu has plenty of fun filled activities that everyone can enjoy. While visiting Oahu you can choose from a wide variety of outdoor or indoor activities or explore Hawaii's special culture and iconic history.
- Bishop Museum is adding a new outdoor exhibit focused on Hawaii's indigenous plants. The Native Hawaiian Garden is expected to be completed this summer at which time Bishop Museum will offer daily educational programming and Garden Tours. The Garden Tour will feature coastal plants, representing the types of plants that voyagers may have seen upon reaching Hawaii's shoreline; plants brought to Hawaii by its first settlers; and native dry forest plants that replicate what Hawaii's forests may have looked like in early times.
- Bishop Museum presents "Surfing: Featuring the Historic Surfboards in Bishop Museum's Collection" through Sept. 6, 2010. The exhibit features more than 25 historic surfboards, a surfing simulator, examples of board design and development through modern times, and historic photos from Bishop Museum's Library and Archives.
- Bishop Museum, the British Museum, and the Peabody Essex Museum are partnering to bring together the three largest Ku images in the world for a historic exhibition on display through Oct. 4, 2010. It will be the first time in over 160 years that three traditional Ku images of this size and magnitude will be displayed alongside one another.
- The Contemporary Museum's Biennial of Hawaii Artists IX will be held from Sept. 25, 2010 through Jan. 9, 2011. The Biennial of Hawaii Artists features the work of selected Hawaii artists and is the museum's signature exhibit.
- Hawaii Children's Discovery Center hosts "Torn from Home: My Life as a Refugee," a traveling national exhibit that depicts the challenges and triumphs that refugee children and their families have experienced. The exhibit, which includes photographs, interactive multimedia, artwork, and testimonials, will run through Oct. 16.
- On the second Thursday of every month, the Honolulu Academy of Arts will remain open until 9 p.m. for aloHAA, a new art pau hana featuring a bar serving beer, wine and specialty cocktails; pupu from The Pavilion Café; live music; and art talks.
- Iolani Palace is now open on Mondays to accommodate the growing demand of visitors interested in touring the Palace. The Palace is open for a variety of tour options six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- The University of Hawaii Art Gallery pays homage to American author and artist Edward Gorey with the exhibition, "Musings of Mystery and Alphabets of Agony: The Work of Edward Gorey," from Sept. 6 to Dec. 10, 2010. Gorey was revered for his distinctly elegant, enigmatic and eerie black and white illustrations of mystery and murder, menaced children, poetic alphabets, incredible creatures, and more.
- Phase I of the $58 million renovation of the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center at Pearl Harbor has been completed. New facilities include a central ticketing facility for tours to the USS Arizona Memorial, the Battleship Missouri Memorial, the USS Bowfin Museum, USS Oklahoma Memorial, and the Pacific Aviation Museum; a research and education center and an expanded bookstore, restrooms and snack bar. When fully completed in December 2010, the new visitor center will include a new museum and expanded landscaped grounds.
- Wet 'n' Wild Hawaii is now offering several combination packages, all of which include roundtrip transportation between Waikiki and the waterpark. The Surf 'n' Play Combo features a surfing lesson at Waikiki Beach by Waikiki Beach Services; the Shop 'n' Play Combo includes transportation to Waikele Premium Outlets; and the Dolphin Watch and Water Park Combo includes a dolphin watch cruise off Oahu's Waianae coast.
