“Save the Date” – Disney Store’s Grand Opening at Ala Moana Center (June 2nd)

Celebrate Disney Store’s Grand Opening at Ala Moana Center
Guests are invited to meet Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Disney Store’s newly-designed location in Honolulu

WHAT: Disney Store will celebrate the grand opening of the newly designed store at Ala Moana Center, in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, June 2, 2012. The newly-designed Disney Store at Ala Moana Center relocated and was remodeled to offer an interactive and magical experience for Disney fans of all ages. Disney Store’s new design concept aims to deliver “the best 30 minutes of a child’s day” through immersive storytelling neighborhoods featuring a Disney Princess castle with magic mirror, translucent trees, and the Disney Store Theatre featuring the latest Disney entertainment.

WHEN: Saturday, June 2, 2012

• 9:30 a.m. – Disney Store opening ceremony where a local child from Make-A-Wish® “will “unlock imagination” and officially open the store. The first 500 guests will receive a free gift.
• 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Meet and Greet with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at center stage. Don’t forget to bring your camera!*

*Characters alternate every 30 minutes. Character appearances are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

WHERE:
Disney Store at Ala Moana Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814

Courtesy of The Disney Store

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

May 1st is Lei Day in Hawaii. It’s a time for residents and visitors to celebrate an island tradition of making and wearing leis. It all started in 1928 when poet Don Blanding wrote an article in a local newspaper suggesting that this custom become a local holiday.

Since then, every year on May 1st the people of Hawaii participate in festivities involving lei making demonstrations, exhibits, hula performances, lei making contests and local musicians. Even our local schools hold annual May Day Programs where children dress up in colorful outfits and perform for family and friends.

However, most of the events take place in Waikiki which allows visitors to enjoy this island tradition as well. It’s a great way to experience the Hawaiian culture.

For more information on May Day festivities as well as other upcoming events, stop by About.com.

The Bishop Museum

I’m not sure why but I never really think to take my kids to the Bishop Museum. As a kid, I’ve visited the museum on numerous occasions while on field trips and enjoyed the various exhibits. So I thought it was time to finally take the girls so they could learn a little more about Hawaiian culture.

Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha family. The Museum was established to house the extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts and royal family heirlooms of the Princess, and has expanded to include millions of artifacts, documents and photographs about Hawai‘i and other Pacific island cultures.

Today, Bishop Museum is the largest museum in the state and the premier natural and cultural history institution in the Pacific, recognized throughout the world for its cultural collections, research projects, consulting services and public educational programs. It also has one of the largest natural history specimen collections in the world. Serving and representing the interests of Native Hawaiians is a primary purpose of the Museum.

courtesy of Bishop Museum

Our first stop was the Hawaiian Hall where we went on a journey through Hawaiian history.

This building is 3 stories tall with life-sized ocean creatures suspended from the ceiling. The first floor shares the life of Hawaiians before they had any contact with the outside world. They have a life-sized hale (shack) which the girls found very interesting. They couldn’t imagine the entire family living in just one room!

The second floor showed artifacts and educated us on the lifestyle of the native people. There was also a very cool hands-on area where the girls could pound tapa cloth (used to make clothing), play musical instruments (pu ili, uli uli, ipu), learn to wrap a lau lau, pound (make believe) poi, and even see some colorful feathers up close through magnifying glass.

The third floor is dedicated to Hawaiian royalty and important events in Hawaiian history. You can also see the insides of a full sized whale up close and personal.

My favorite room was the Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike K?hili Room. It’s a small display room but it has such an amazing presence that you can’t help but feel in awe. Here you’ll find the precious K?hili (feather standards) of the Hawaiian Monarchy.

Of course, the girls favorite exhibit was the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center.

This huge exhibit is the perfect place for kids to get a little hands-on experience with sound & motion, lava flows, and wind power.

The kids were also able to walk through a lava tube filled with neon images, walk under a water tube, and slide down the side of a volcano.

Science on a Sphere provided us with a look at science, math, and geography in a way that’s easy to understand. In the middle of the room is a sphere that is 6 feet in diameter and shows an amazing look at planet Earth.

We didn’t get a chance to visit The Watumull Planetarium but it’s definitely on our list for our next visit. In fact, I think we’ll probably try to make it back when the museum is hosting the evening “The Sky Tonight” event where we’ll be able to learn more about the stars and constellations in the current sky.

Finally, The Bishop Museum is currently showcasing Sesame Street Presents: The Body where kids can learn about the human body and the way it works. There are tons of hands-on exhibits and familiar faces all housed in the world of Sesame Street. This exhibit runs from April 7 – July 30, 2012.

What a wonderful way to get the kids out of the house and expose them to some rich Hawaiian history.

Ohana Music Together

My girls have always had a love for music. Whether it be on television, on the radio, or a CD in the car. Once they hear the music they can’t help but sing and dance along. That’s why we were very interested when we learned about a company called Music Together which has a local location right in Pearl City – Ohana Music Together.

Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and the adults who love them. First offered to the public in 1987, it pioneered the concept of a research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music curriculum that strongly emphasizes and facilitates adult involvement. – courtesy of Music Together

Ohana Music Together recently invited Kaila and I to participate in their music class with the school’s owner Becky Andrew. From the moment Becky contacted me I was very impressed with her warmness. When you walk into her class she is all smiles and very inviting which I really appreciated since Kaila and I were sitting in with a group that had already been together for 5 weeks. We were kind of like the new kids in school. And the fact that I had to wake Kaila up from her nap when we got there didn’t make things any easier on me.

The Music & Movement Class lasts for 45 minutes which I thought was the perfect amount of time since it takes Kaila a little while to warm up to people she doesn’t know. The classroom itself is a square carpeted room which allows for intimacy and security knowing that if your child got restless he/she can’t get very far. There’s also a “potty” room conveniently located.

During the class we were introduced to various types of music including one in Spanish. Each song was accompanied by body movements or props like scarves, balls, toy instruments, and stretchy bands. Kiana’s favorite activity was playing with the musical instruments. When Becky dumped out the box Kiana made a beeline for her favorite – the drums.

I was impressed by how many instruments there were to choose from with duplicates of most of them. I thought this was great since we all know how children this age can sometimes be very selective about which toy they’d like to play with. Having multiples of the same instrument ensures that there are no conflicts.

What I also noticed was that every single minute was used to it’s full advantage whether it was humming musical tones while cleaning up the toys or “blowing” the lights on and off during the wind-down time. In this class you pay for a full 45-minute class. Not a moment is wasted.

However, what I liked best about Ohana Music Together is their flexibility. They understand that not every child will engage with the songs in the same way and they are very open to letting kids play and learn at their own pace. The only thing that they ask is that the parent participate to show their children how much fun music and learning can be.

In the end, Kaila & I had a great time! Ohana Music Together gave us a new appreciation of music, tones, and melodies as well as an opportunity to get out of the house and participate in a playgroup like environment. It’s just what we needed to spend some quality time together!

Kaila & Becky Andrew

Ohana Music Together
941 Kamehameha Highway, Pearl City
2051 Young Street, Honolulu
$225 for (10) 45-minute classes
FREE trial class available

This post was written for Ohana Music Together who provided the complimentary class.

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