Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium, Science planetarium at Bishop Museum, Honolulu, United States.
The Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium is a domed theater inside Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, showing programs about the night sky and Pacific ocean voyages. The dome projects stars and navigation routes overhead, creating a setting that links astronomy to the seafaring traditions of the Pacific.
The planetarium opened in December 1961 under the name Kilolani Planetarium, making it one of the first public planetariums in the United States. It was later renamed to honor Jhamandas Watumull, an Indian merchant who settled in Honolulu and became a major benefactor of the museum.
The planetarium is closely tied to the revival of traditional Polynesian wayfinding, the practice of navigating open ocean using only stars, swells, and wind. Nainoa Thompson, who led the effort to sail traditional Hawaiian canoes across the Pacific again, trained here in the 1970s.
The theater seats only a small number of visitors per show, so arriving early at Bishop Museum is a good idea to make sure you get in. Shows run throughout the day, and access is included with general museum admission.
The planetarium is named after an Indian immigrant, which is unusual for a Hawaiian cultural institution. Jhamandas Watumull arrived in Honolulu in the early 20th century, built a trading business, and became one of the city's most generous supporters of education and the arts.
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