molokai museum and cultural center

We're suckers for history and enjoy seeing old mills, so we were excited to visit the Molokai Museum and RW Meyer Sugar Mill. The old couple volunteering there were very nice. There were two films to watch. One on the sugar mill history and restoration and one on the National Parks involvement in restoring Kaluapapa. The sugar mill video was a tad too long to hold our interest. The NPS video was more interesting, but really outdated. The charms of a small town museum! They offer a self-guided tour of the mill, which the woman said is deteriorating as quickly as it can be restored. She started us outside first to explain the significance of two stones out front, a birthing stone and its protectant stone. We walked through the sugar mill and see the crusher. But the truly interesting exhibit was a series of photos of the residents and ancestors of Kalaupapa. Some historic photographs and some recent photographs. Mostly black and white. And they were really stunning, beautiful portraits. There was an admission charge of $5/adult.

They have largely renovated the old mill. It's extremely interesting, and they had a photo exhibition of the old leper colony on display, also extremely interesting. Just a nice place to visit. The volunteer receptionist was friendly.

The museum has some nice art displayed, and you can watch videos about the local history. The sugar mill was interesting to visit and learn how it worked. The gentleman attending to us was very nice and knowledgable about the island. We took his recommendation on how to spend the rest of our day.

StevefromKaty and caljang have 100% expressed my sentiments. A lot of time and effort has gone into the mill's restoration brought about by the love and devotion of Molokai's residents. There are 2 very interesting and informative orientation films [one that explains the history + restoration of the sugar mill and the other one which recounts the story of the Kalaupapa setttlement] that are shown prior to your self guided tour of the mill. Newspaper articles dated 1998 and 2003 are a good source of background information for anyone intending to visit the settlement. There are also a number of interesting ancient artifacts that have been collected over the years. For visitors who work in the medical field, be sure to view the royal birthing stone near the entrance to the visitors center.

You kind of need to understand the temperament of Molokai to properly assess this museum. Molokai is a somewhat isolated island of 7500 permanent residents so the museum matches that.If you don't expect the spit and polish of a London or New York venue you will do just fine. Enjoy the pace and history of the island and everything things will fall in place.The Museum highlights some of the history around the leprosy colony of the 1800's and also the business of a small private sugar cane operation.

There were a few interesting pictures, but the videos were too boring to watch and the sugar mill was boring as well. And that was it, that is the whole museum. I wish I would have kept that money in my pocket. Parking is free and plentiful.They do not sell food or drink.

We visited here on our first day on Molokai. It is nice to learn the history of the island and of Kalaupapa. I'm glad that we went there to learn more about Kalaupapa before going down there for the tour.

Cost to see $5.00/person. Worth the cost to visit 2 good history shows on the sugar mill and Father Damien. Both sites were interesting to understand a little about this period of time. Again attempt to see

Friendly patron and inspired exhibits provide insight into molokai culture. We enjoyed the artifacts and history. It's worth your time to catch a glimpse of this mellow island.

Two interesting films, one about the Sugar Mill and one about Kalaupapa. The restored Sugar Mill is fun. You can just imagine what it was like when it was in operation (very hot). Definitely worth a visit.

This Museum is worth an hour of your time.The volunteers will answer all your questions about the history of this sugar milland the development of Moloka'i.

Mike, the curator at the museum was very friendly and informative. It was raining and we were not in a rush so we watched both movies, one on the sugar mill and one on the renovation of the leper colony. Both were excellent and the sugar mill movie was so helpful when understanding the renovated mill.

Museum was a little sparse, but it was made up by the informative docent who gave a quick tour, DVD, and photographs. The restored sugar mill was very interesting and well done.

My husband and I spent three days on Moloka'i. We stayed in the Palau'u State Park the night before and had planned to hike to Kalaupapa but it had rained the entire night and continued that day. We had seen the signs for the Moloka'i Museum and Cultural Center while driving by and decided to stop in on Feb.7. I had not done any research on the place so I did not have any expectations. It cost $5 per person to enter. The man at the front desk said he had just started a video for another couple to watch and said we could sit down and join them. We did. The video was not interesting and I struggled to keep my attention focused. After the video was complete the man asked if we would like to watch another video on Kalaupapa from the park service. The other couple declined and went to walk around. Since we had planned to hike to Kalaupapa, we decided to watch. This video was interesting. After it was finished we began walking around. We say a few antique items, like a typewriter, phone, tools, etc... but nothing we couldn't see in our county museum back home. The room was divided by a few floating walls all filled with photos - mostly all involving Kalaupapa. It seemed more like a photo gallery than it did a museum. Another room was essentially a gift shop filled with books on Hawaii and the culture, and handmade quilts and other niknaks. That was it for the museum. The man then asked if we would like a tour of the sugar mill on the property. He took us out the door, handed us a paper with information by numbers and we were off on a self-guided tour. My husband found the sugar mill interesting - if not for that the entire trip would not have been worth our while. I would estimate it took less than an hour to look at everything. On a side note, just so it doesn't seem I have something against museums... I had assumed the quality of the museum was due to the size of the island. But a few days later we went to Lana'i, which is even a smaller item. They also have a culture and heritage center in Lana'i City - and it was outstanding. There were all kinds of relics, artifacts, historical items; not only on the history of Lana'i but also on Hawai'i in general. The curator also provided us with a great deal of information on the Moloka'i, the restoration of the ancient fish ponds, and the debate the citizens have had over development of the island. There was also not admission - donations were accepted.

This is a surprisingly good museum primarily dealing with the Hansen's Disease colony on Molokai, yet also offering a number of historical artifacts on other aspects of Moloka'is history including a "birthing stone and its protector" along with a nicely restored 19th century sugar mill. Buying a five pound sack of sugar is so easy and inexpensive, yet after seeing just what it takes to grow and process sugar, you will forever think it a bargain. This museum is conveniently located near other Moloka'i attractions towards the end of highway 470. If you are on a day tour of Moloka'i from Maui or on Moloka'i for a few days, be certain to attend this museum. The docents are very good and happy to answer any questions. The fee is a very modest $5 per person. Allow about 90 minutes to enjoy the indoor exhibits, two short documentary movies, and take pictures of the sugar mill.