Northwest of the island of Kauai lies the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.  The NWHI includes a 1,200 mile stretch of coral reefs and atolls and covers more than 139,000 square miles of ocean.  The NWHI is home to more than 7,000 different species of marine life some of which are rare or endangered.  Scientists also believe there are species of marine life here which have yet to be identified.

Wondering why you have never heard of it before?  The NWHI is a national marine monument and access is strictly limited.  The NWHI is mainly the rich sea lab for researchers.  Midway Island (which is in the NWHI) was opened to eco-tourism this year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service but the groups are small and the cost is large.

If you want to know more about this rich and fascinating stretch of coral reef and its surrounding marine environment, you can go to the small town of Hilo on the Big Island.  In May of 2003, a new discovery center was opened on the bay in Hilo which is focused on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands coral reef ecosystem.  The discovery center is called Mokupāpapa and it is amazing!

Since too many visitors to the NWHI would damage the fragile ecosystem in place, they have brought the NWHI to you in fun and original ways.  This 4,000 square foot facility is FREE to the public and is open Tuesday through Saturday 9 am to 4 pm, excluding Federal Holidays.  The center welcomes around 60,000 visitors each year.

The center has all of the multimedia bells and whistles you would normally expect from such a marine showcase.  There are interactive displays, interesting three-dimensional models, and immersive theater which allows each visitor to explore the natural science, culture, and history of the NWHI.  There is a 2,500 gallon salt-water aquarium which houses fish and other marine life from the reef.  Near the aquarium, you will find a mock-up of the Pisces V undersea research submersible.  Guests, young and old alike, can work the robot arms to pick things up from the ocean floor to get  the feeling of what it would be like to work in such a piece of equipment.

While all of this is top-notch and very engaging, the focal point of Mokupāpapa has to be it’s giant coral reef mural.  This mural fills an entire wall and has been built with painstaking detail by local Hilo artist Layne Luna.  Layne Luna is a diver, painter, and sculptor.  With these diverse skills, he was able to built a 3 dimensional mural with very realistic features.  A giant Trevally swims out of the mural to feed on big-eyed scad or Akule while a giant manta ray and tiger shark swoop down from the ceiling. The mural shows the reef with surrounding marine life and the coral reef comes out of the wall in 3D realism by your feet.

Layne Luna’s original painting was 24 inches by 48 inches and was blown up to 14 feet by 30 feet to complete the mural.  Usually, when you blow something up that large it gets blurry so Layne had to paint to very exacting standards.  To achieve that level of detail, Layne imported Belgian linen as his base medium and than applied oil paints using the smallest sable brush.  The overall effect is one of fine art and amazing detail.

If you are ever in Hilo, this is a great way to spend an hour admiring fine art, working with the interactive displays and learning more about the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at your own pace.

Mokupāpapa Discovery Center

308 Kamehameha Ave., Suite 109

Hilo, HI                    808.933.8195

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