[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CELEBRATING THE 120TH ANNIVERSARY OF BISHOP MUSEUM

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                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 2009

  Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, August, 2009 marks the 120th anniversary 
of Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, the State of Hawai`i's Natural and 
Cultural History Museum. Founded more than a century ago, in the memory 
Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop by her husband, Charles Reed Bishop, 
Bishop Museum has contributed to the world's understanding of the 
natural and cultural history of the Pacific and Hawai`i. It has 
collected and preserved nearly 25 million scientific animal and plant 
specimens and 2.4 million cultural objects that together help tell the 
full story of Hawai`i and the Pacific.
  Bishop Museum recently completed a major restoration of one of its 
original buildings, Hawaiian Hall. Listed on the National Register of 
Historic Places, Bishop Museum's Hawaiian Hall has traditionally housed 
Hawai`i's most sacred and beloved artifacts. With its volcanic stone 
exterior and extensive use of native koa wood, Hawaiian Hall is 
considered a masterwork of late Victorian museum design.
  With this important renovation, hundreds of thousand visitors and 
local residents will enter the world of Hawai`i. They will hear the 
oral tradition of oli and mo `olelo. They will experience Hawai`i's 
deep connection between its natural and cultural worlds. Bishop Museum 
has served as an essential repository and education institution for 
over a century.
  In honor of this important anniversary and the major restoration of 
Hawaiian Hall, Congressman Abercrombie and I introduced H. Res. 541, 
which we are hoping will pass the House in the near future. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in commending the important efforts of the Museum 
and in celebrating the 120th anniversary of its founding with the 
restoration and reopening of its Hawaiian Hall. Mahalo!

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