Beginning June 26, Mission Houses Museum will host Ho‘omaka Hou (New Beginning) Days on the last Saturday of every month. This new program is designed to explore literacy in Hawai‘i in a fun, hands-on way, exploring a different topic each time.

On June 26, the focus will be First Peoples, examining traditions of Hawai’i’s well, first peoples, through petroglyphs and other storytelling avenues. Story hour is at 12:30 and will be scheduled regularly at that time, and visitors can engage in rotating hands-on activities throughout the day. Above all, the museum wants to engage people and reflect on the idea of new beginnings.

“Everyone who has ever been a newcomer to Hawai‘i has experienced a new beginning here, so this program will hold surprises and relevance to everyone in Hawai‘i. We or our ancestors have all come here from elsewhere,” said Tom Woods, Mission Houses Museum Executive Director.

July’s topic will be Yankees and Europeans Make Hawai’i Home, exploring how traders, sailors and missionaries integrated their traditions into Hawai’i’s culture through the items they brought and developed, such as ships, china, quilts, and handwritten Hawaiian language. (see the 2010 schedule below)

It’s great to see the Museum doing so many events and community activities, especially around literacy–reading and storytelling, after all, provide many new beginnings for adults and children alike.
 

Saturday, June 26, 10 am to 4 pm, children under 6 admitted free; $4 for kama‘aina, and $10 for non-residents; admission includes the house tour at 11am, 1pm or 2:45 pm, and all activities.

2010 Schedule

August 28: Plantation Days

September 25: Working Together

October 30: Chicken Skin Stories

November 27: A Time to Give Thanks and Mālama (care for) Our Land and Friends

December 18: A Circle of Ethnic Holidays

**Photo linked to the Mission Houses Library page–check it out!