Fieldtrips: Arts of Asia and the Pacific
Take some time and browse selected destinations for our program.
Please note that activities with an "*" are only available for programs that are 3 - 4 weeks in length.
Bishop Museum
The Bishop Museum owns 20 million
objects including royal feather capes and weapons of war. It is an
absorbing introduction to the history of Hawai'i, from the canoe age
of the first Polynesian explorers to the space age of astronauts
training on the "lunar" cape of Kilauea Iki volcano. Classes on
traditional Hawaiian craft making are a part of the trip.
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The museum's permanent collection offers a look at
one of the country's finest holdings of Asian art. The Academy of
Arts offers classes on traditional Asian and Hawaiian handicrafts.
The many exhibits offer never-ending surprises: Kabuki actor prints,
calligraphy and paintings of the Wu school, paintings of traditional
Hawaiian tatoos...
'Iolani Palace
'Iolani Palace
is the last official residence of kings and queens who ruled Hawai'i
as a united kingdom for a century, and before that, as separate
kingdoms for a thousand years. Trace the footsteps of royalty with a
docent-lead tour as you take an historic journey from the 1882
completion of King Kalakaua's new palace to the 1893 dethronement of
Hawai'i's last Queen, Lili'uokalani.
Island Tour
Explore the island of
O'ahu on this day-long tour featuring sacred Hawaiian sites and visits
to practicing artisans and galleries on the North Shore.
*Queen
Emma's Summer Palace
The simple, Greek revival-style
summer home of Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma still contains an
extensive collection of Hawaiian and European treasures. Displays
occupy every room in the palace, including feather cloaks, capes,
period furnishings, and gifts from the Queen of England and the
Maharaja in India.
Temari Activity
At Temari, Center for Asian and Pacific
Arts, students will participate in classes in lei making, tapa
printing, Chinese knotting or Fimo jewelry making.
Local Artisan tour
Students will tour the galleries and
studios of local artisans in Honolulu specializing in Hawaiian, Asian
and Pacific arts.
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Students will experience a traditional
Japanese tea ceremony in the classic tea house on our campus. The
architecture and layout as well as the elements of the ceremony are
explained by a narrator.
*Polynesian Cultural
Center
Experience the cultures of Polynesia at the
Polynesian Cultural Center. The Center features seven cultural
villages: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Hawai'i, the Marquesas and New
Zealand. The package will feature admission to the cultural villages,
the canoe pageant, the IMAX theater, an authentic Hawaiian luau, and
preferred seating for the evening Horizons show.
Island Tour: Sacred Sites on the Island of O'ahu
Explore the island of O'ahu on this
day-long circle island tour examining sacred religious sites.
Temple/Shrine Tour
The tour takes students on an
abbreviated exploration of Kuan Yin Temple, Lum Sai Ho Tong, Hsu-yun
Temple and Izumo Taisha Shrines.
Kuan Yin Temple & Lum Sai Ho Tong
Kuan Yin Temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin (Guanyin), the
Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy who has promised to help all those in
need who call out to her. It is the oldest surviving Chinese temple
in Hawai'i. The main images are of Guandi, protector of truth and
justice; Dragon King's daughter with flaming pearl, Guan Yin (main
figure); Shanzai the God of Wealth, and Protecting Bodhisattva
Weito. A large incense burner looking out the door honors all the
Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and gods not in the temple. Lum Sai Ho
Tong is a temple owned by the Lum family and dedicated to their
ancestor Mazu, Empress of Heaven.
Izumo Taisha Shrine
Izumo Taisha is a Shinto shrine that was founded in 1906. It honors
Okuninushi No Mikoto, the Creator and Dictator of the Universe, the
son of Susanoo No Mikoto, the younger brother of Amaterasu Omikami.
Okuninushi has traditionally been regarded as the god of marriage,
good fortune and agriculture in Japan. It is a branch of the Izumo
Grand Shrine Sect in Japan and represents the oldest shrine
architectural style in Japan.
Hsu-yun Temple Hsu-yun
Temple represents a nondenominational form of Chinese Buddhism
including Pure Land devotion and Chan/Zen meditation. It is named
after Hsu-yun (d.1959), the leading Chinese Chan master of the 20th
century and teacher of the present abbot. The main images and
furnishings are from Hong Kong, with pictures of the life of Buddha on
the wall, and guardian images of Guandi and Weito Bodhisattva. The
main images are of Omitofo Buddha (lotus platform), Sakyamuni Buddha
in the center, and Healing Buddha (with medicine pagoda). Behind the
temple are two ancestral halls with ancestral tablets of deceased
loved ones presided over by Dizang Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva
and Omitofo Buddha.
Honpa Hongwanji of Hawai'i
This is the largest Buddhist
denomination in Hawai'i with 35 branch temples and a Buddhist Study
Center. The Honpa Hongwanji of Hawai'i is part of the Nishi Hongwanji
denomination of Japan, the largest Buddhist group of Japan. Begun in
1889, the temple was built in 1917 in Indian style to represent the
shared origins of all Buddhism. In 1923 a copy of the Hongwanji
Temple of Hawai'i was made in Tokyo. The back of the temple is a
columbarium for ashes, tablets and memorial services.
Hawai'i's Plantation Village
Hawai'i's Plantation
Village features an overview of plantation buildings that could be
found on many sugar plantations throughout Hawai'i in the early 1900s,
and features homes furnished with items reflecting the immigration of
workers from China, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Okinawa, Korea and
the Philippines.
Chinatown
Walking Tour
The Chinatown walking tour moves along King
Street, pausing briefly at stores that feature products from Asia, the
open market, lei vendors, and herb specialists.
Mission Houses Museum
The coming of Christianity to Hawai'i is
encapsulated at the Mission Houses Museum, a compound of New
England-style homes, including the first prefabricated house shipped
around Cape Horn in 1821, and dwellings made from coral blocks cut
from the reef. Adjacent is the stately KawaiaHa'o Church, the oldest
Christian house of worship in Hawai'i. Sunday services are still
conducted in the Hawaiian language.
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941 is etched into
history as the day when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor destroying the
Pacific fleet at anchor. The USS Arizona sank with 1,177 men aboard.
The bombed battleship is visible in the waters beneath the Arizona
Memorial. Students will have the opportunity to check out the film
and photo exhibit at the visitors center. Students may also visit the
USS Battleship Missouri.