Hawaii Children's Discovery Center is a

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fea ...

located near

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii's

Kaka'ako Waterfront Park Kakaʻako Waterfront Park, also known as "Point Panic Park", is a public park in Kakaako, Kakaʻako, south of downtown Honolulu, just off Ala Moana Boulevard at the end of Cooke Street. It was opened in November 1992 on the site of a former muni ...

. Founded in 1989,
A Legacy of Love
', Midweek, MidWeek Printing, 2009 the museum receives over 200,000 visits from children and their families every year. It is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization with tax-exempt status, and a member of the Association of Children's Museums.
Find a Museum
', Association of Children's Museums

History

Hawaii Children's Discovery Center opened as Hawaii Children’s Museum of Art, Culture, Science and Technology in December 1989

', Hawaii Children's Discovery Center at a storefront location at the

Dole Food Company Dole plc (previously named Dole Food Company, Standard Fruit Company) is an Irish agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is among the world's largest producers of fruit and vegetables, operating wit ...

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...

in Honolulu's Iwilei industrial neighborhood. The original museum closed in 1994, having served about 250,000 visitors,
From the ashes, for the kids
', Jerry Tune, Star-Advertiser, 1996 following the cannery's closure in 1991.

', Dole Cannery, Castle & Cooke Properties In 1998, the museum re-opened as Hawaii Children's Discovery Center at the renovated and expanded site of the old Kewalo incinerator under a 40-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

with the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA). To prepare the site, which had been abandoned since 1977 when the incinerator could not satisfy higher air pollution standards,
Garbage In Paradise: A History of Honolulu's Refuse Division
', City & County of Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services, 2005 the HCDA spent $2 million USD gutting the incinerator, removing

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and asbestos, oil tanks and

furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

s and stabilizing the structure according to current

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permiss ...

. New construction added 20,000 square feet to the existing 17,000-square-foot facility.

Present

Source:
Exhibits
', Hawaii Children's Discovery Center The mission of the museum is to ''inspire children to 'dream big dreams' and to know that dreams can, indeed, come true.

', Hawaii Children's Discovery Center Its six fixed

exhibit Exhibit may refer to: *Exhibit (legal), evidence in physical form brought before the court **Demonstrative evidence, exhibits and other physical forms of evidence used in court to demonstrate, show, depict, inform or teach relevant information to ...

s provide an environment that encourages children to use their

senses A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...

to gain a better understanding of the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

around them: * ''Tot Spot'' is an area for children 5-years and younger to enjoy a stimulating and sensory-filled environment. * ''Fantastic You'' helps children learn how the different parts of your

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...

work together. * ''Your Town'' teaches children how a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

functions through role-playing as a firefighter,

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

er, a

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning an ...

, an art performer. * ''Hawaiian Rainbows'' explains history of Hawaii from the

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

days to modern Hawaii. * ''Your Rainbow World'' teaches about

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

s, countries and celebrations outside of Hawaii by letting children experience how life is similar and different in other parts of the world. * ''Rainforest Adventures'', the Center's newest exhibit gallery, teaches children about the importance of rainforests in Hawaii and all around the world. Hawaii Children's Discovery Center hosts a variety of themed programs: * ''Toddler Time'' helps 18-36 month children develop

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and sensory perception * ''Preschool Playtime'', for 3- and 4-year-olds, is a drop-off program offering children a first-time

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

classroom experience * STEM-centered labs * Several programs designed especially for US-based Scouting organizations * ''Discovery Camps'' four times a year during school breaks

Support

Hawaii Children's Discovery Center is supported through member contributions,

sponsorships Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

, foundation and federal

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places * Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, ...

, and the support of generous individuals. While the museum has a full-time staff, it depends on volunteers at every level of the organization.

References

External links

*
Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA)
*{{HAER , survey=HI-64 , id=hi0725 , title=Incinerator Number One, 121 Ahui Street, Honolulu, Honolulu County, HI , photos=7 , data=19 , cap=1 Historic American Engineering Record in Hawaii Museums in Honolulu