Celebrating - 110 YEARS Since the Window 1904 to the Sea
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2014 JAN | FEB | MAR - Celebrating - 110 YEARS Since the Window 1904 to the Sea MILESTONE CELEBRATION 110 YEARS AT THE END OF KALĀKAUA AVENUE page 5 YOU’RE HOW OLD? MEET THE OLDEST AQUARIUM ANIMALS page 12 SAVE FROM THE DIRECTOR THE DATE s we move towards the end 7TH ANNUAL of 2013, the Aquarium is preparing for its 110th year ALOHA KOI SHOW in 2014. As indicated in this SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15 issue of Kilo i‘a, a wide variety 9:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. of special events are planned, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 including a guest lecture se- 9:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. Aries on ocean-related themes, presented by internationally-renowned scientists. Check For the fourth consecutive year, out the events on offer, and join us for at we are pleased to host The Aloha least a few. Beyond acknowledging our long Koi Appreciation Society’s annual history, within the Aquarium, 2014 is slated Aloha Koi Show on February 15 and to be a year of progress and change. Already 16. Over 200 top quality koi from the new flooring for the galleries is well throughout the US will compete underway, along with the retheming and for best in show. Supported by SEND US renewal of several exhibits. On December the Japanese Cultural Center, the A New Wave YOUR PHOTOS! 30th our new website was launched. The family-friendly event will feature Living Legacies: The three living directors of the expert talks, keiki activities, cultural The Waikīkī Aquarium turns 110 years old in 2014 and new gift shop is now complete and has gar- Waikīkī Aquarium: Dr. Andrew Rossiter, Dr. Leighton nered praise from many of our members for Taylor and Dr. Bruce Carlson. demonstrations and Japan-themed we’re celebrating! Join us as we commemorate this Do you have historic its array of merchandise, its new displays, entertainment. Free with admission momentous occasion in a two-day celebration of our Aquarium photos you its brightness, and the pleasant shopping to the Aquarium. would like to share? past, present and future. experience it now offers. Drop by in Janu- Issue Number 188 We’d love to see them. | | ary for those belated Christmas gifts! You fish exhibit. Behind the scenes, a new live 2014 JAN FEB MAR 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Contact Graphics Coordinator might also notice the front of the Aquarium feeds area is already under construction. EDITOR WED, MARCH 19 Dr. Andrew Rossiter Kelsey Ige to submit your photos, will have been painted a marine blue color. When operational, this will allow us to pro- SAT, MARCH 22 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 440-9018 or [email protected]. MANAGING EDITOR + ART DIRECTOR The materials and labor for this, which has duce onsite the phytoplankton, zooplank- Kelsey Ige greatly improved the Aquarium’s curb ap- ton and small shrimps needed to feed our PRINTING peal, was kindly donated by Kawika’s Paint- animals, providing us with a guaranteed Reskyu ing. For those with an eye for detail, the five source of live food that is disease free, im- Kilo i‘a is published quarterly by the concrete light bollards at the entrance will proving food quality and cutting food costs. University of Hawai‘i and the Friends soon also be replaced with blue metallic bol- Did you know that a single weedy seadragon of Waikīkī Aquarium and is dedicated to increasing the community’s lards with solar lighting. And to the right of eats up to 1,000 of these small shrimps a day, knowledge of the Waikīkī Aquarium the Aquarium building, the large shipping and they cost 10¢ each! And by the next is- and Hawai‘i’s marine life. container, which has been an eyesore for so sue of Kilo i‘a we should have hired two new Waikīkī Aquarium SUMMER BY staff in our live exhibits department. Lots 2777 Kalākaua Ave. many years, has been removed, and the site Honolulu, HI 96815-4027 where it once stood will be converted into a of positives to look forward to in the next PHONE (808)923-9741 THE SEA FAX (808)923-1771 rain garden. Plans are also afoot for a major 12 months! And most importantly, almost www.waquarium.org SESSION I • JUNE 9–13 refurbishment of the public bathrooms and all these projects are being funded through Mon-Thu 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. the foyer area, along with the opening of our the Friends of the Waikīkī Aquarium—and WRITE TO US AT [email protected] Fri 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. long-awaited seahorse, seadragon and pipe- that means partly by you! All of us at the © 2014 Waikīkī Aquarium SESSION II • JUNE 23–27 Aquarium thank you for your support and Mon-Thu 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER WITH offer our best wishes for a happy and suc- ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY INKS Fri 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. cessful 2014, and hope to see you here, many times, throughout the year! Are your kids ready for summer? MANA‘O Splash into summer with the Aquar- 2014 Lecture Series ium’s Summer by the Sea program! Traditionally, the kilo i‘a was an expert Students will spend a week learning of fish and marine life. He studied In celebration of the Aquarium’s 110th Anniversary, FOWA presents the 2014 Distinguished Lecturer the behaviors and movements of i‘a. about Hawai‘i’s unique marine Series with presentations by internationally renowned guest speakers. Presentations will address a The kilo stood at a high point of land animals and environments through variety of marine issues including marine conservation, biodiversity, climate change, ocean acidifi- overlooking the ocean to watch for an hands-on activities and classroom cation, marine debris, overfishing and rising sea levels. Dr. Andrew Rossiter expected school of fish and steered the sessions. Mark your calendars, regis- Director, Waikīkī Aquarium fishermen in the school’s direction. tration begins April 1 and spaces fill ➻ The series will kick off on March 15, 2014 at the Waikīkī Aquarium in recognition of the Aquarium’s three The success of surrounding the school up quickly! More info on page 15. living directors and a keynote speaker. Lectures continue every other month through the end of the year. was entirely up to the kilo. 2 JAN-MAR 2014 KILO I‘A 3 110 YEARS ? as hawai‘i’s window to the sea + At the end of Kalākaua Avenue, at the base of picturesque Diamond Head, the Waikīkī Aquarium has made its home for 110 years, with a history and heritage that dates back almost to the beginning of public aquariums as institutions. What began as a small attraction to lure Honolulu Trolley riders to the end of the line in Kapi‘olani Park has grown to a world-class institution. ➺ School children enjoy an early marine reptile exhibit at the Aquarium, circa 1960. PHOTO: WAIKīKī AQUARIUM ARCHIVES * Editor’s note: The facts presented in this history of the Waikīkī Aquarium were compiled from various news clippings, government reports, past issues of Kilo i‘a and personal accounts. HE AQUARIUM’S HISTORY BEGINS, NOT WITHIN THE This compilation does DEPTHS OF THE SEA, NOR IN AN EARLY 20TH CENTURY not attempt to be com- prehensive; it merely BIOLOGY LAB but as a commercial venture by two of Hawai‘i’s , highlights those events main captains of industry. At the head of the Honolulu Rapid Transit that stand as milestones Company (HRTC) were Charles M. Cooke and James B. Castle, who in the 110-year history of the Waikīkī Aquarium. devised a way to get tourists to the unfrequented last stop on the Aquarium Director Spencer Waikīkī Line in Kapi‘olani Park (the trolley terminus was located Tinker (third from left) during the grand opening of the new across Kalākaua Avenue fronting the current Aquarium building, Waikīkī Aquarium in 1955. and is now marked by a jogger’s rest area, next to the tennis courts). Community interest in establishing an aquarium in the islands The facade of the arose in 1903, as a result of a US Fish Commission survey that original Honolulu Aquarium. The marine suggested the islands were a logical location for an oceanographic animal stones above the archway in this Excited patrons eagerly laboratory. Inspired by Hawai‘i’s unique sea life, the grandeur of the photo can be seen in await the opening of the new aquariums in Europe, along with the public’s desire, Cooke was the Aquarium’s foyer. new Waikīkī Aquarium. PHOTO: TINKER COLLECTION, HAMILTON LIBRARY, UH MāNOA convinced that the islands should have its own public aquarium. The Honolulu Aquarium opened to rave reviews on March 19, 1904. Originally located some 60 yards ‘ewa of where the Aquarium The Honolulu Aquarium saw many prominent visitors. Among In May 1949, the Territorial Legislature appropriated $400,000 sits today, the Honolulu Aquarium’s first exhibits featured 60 spe- THE earLY years them was the renowned William Jennings Bryan who wrote, for the construction of a new Aquarium building, due primarily to cies of marine life, a total of 265 individual specimens that were During its early years, the staff of the Aquarium consisted of the “Language cannot do this subject justice. The fish are odd in shape the efforts of Representative Hiram L. Fong. After years of debate collected by local fishermen. Director, two caretakers and a cashier. Because of a lack of man- and have all the hues of the rainbow.