The Kōkeʻe Natural History Museum felt really special to us. Since it is not directly funded by the state, it relies heavily on the support of visitors and the local community, which made us appreciate the experience even more. While it may be small in size, it is absolutely worth the visit. You can genuinely feel the pride and care that goes into the exhibits, the knowledge they share with guests, and their dedication to preserving Hawaiian history and nature. During our visit, we also purchased a bird book for my wife, which made for a really meaningful souvenir from our trip. Places like this deserve support, and we would definitely recommend stopping by while exploring the area. Help take care of history and the stories that come with it! read more

Koke'e Natural History Museum - Museums Near Me - Kekaha, Hawaii

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What a fantastic place to rest after a long drive sightseeing In the Waimea canyon and Kokee state park. There is a large next-door for eating or a snack. But it's always a great idea to stop by the museum to learn about the land. It was great to look inside this museum. No, they require a three dollar suggested donation. Best way to support the locals I stayed in here for a bit to get shelter from the rain. I learned about the flora and Fauna and the people that lived here. If you're even looking for state souvenirs or local souvenirs this is the place to get it. Or just taking a break from your long But beautiful drive here read more

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Personnel very helpful and friendly. Great exhibits and souvenirs. Parking is free! Really liked the history and bird sections.

great museum to visit if you're in town. so much great information & history, especially about the wildlife that is native here on the island. i could spend hours reading all the neat & dandy information this little museum has to offer. admission is free, but donations are highly appreciated. i would love to come back & set aside more time to do a thorough walkthrough of everything :) read more

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I usually love museums and seek them out where ever I go, especially when I'm visiting a new place. This one is in a rural area away from the city and does not have cell service. It's "free" to visit, although they have a donation box at the door and suggest a $3 donation per person. There are a few artifacts throughout the museum, but it's modest. The attached gift shop has a few items that represent the area. It's an older building that is ADA accessible. Although there are chickens all over outside, there are signs requesting that you don't feed them on the museum's property. If you're already in the area, it doesn't hurt to stop by. But I wouldn't make a special trip just for this. read more

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Be forewarned that this museum now closes at 3 PM per a paper sign taped to the door. We arrived at 3:07 PM and were only able to read the exhibits on the outside of the building. No maps or state park stamps are available after 3 PM which was a disappointment. read more

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This is a very small two room museum that is supported by a 3.00 voluntary donation and anything you might buy. Ada ramp available at entrance. Very clean and informative. read more

On the way to Kalalau lookout is this two room museum , right next to Kokee lodge and Kokee cafeteria, with picnic tables outside. Drivers maneuver their cars in the parking lot, just ahead of the scattering bunches of rooster and chickens prancing their stuff! Inside is information on hiking conditions and emergency numbers. The outlook for the winter of 2018 was grim, with heavy persistent rain throughout the winter. A sign hanging on the wall warns of the dangers of hiking in the Kokee State Park and Waimea Canyons, due to extremely muddy and slippery hazardous conditions. An example of a hiker who slipped and fell breaking his leg, and who had to be helicoptered out at $100,000 expense to the taxpayers. Detailed maps of the park for hiking purposes. Nowadays people just take a picture of the map and go from there. $3 suggested donation at the front of the museum. Wife would have paid if she had $3, but I give whatever change I have in dollar bills. Gift shop at entry with lots of books on Kauai for sale. One room with heads mounted like trophies on the wall. Includes feral goats, feral wild boars, deer. Wild boars introduced by Polynesians who brought them to Kauai by boat in ancient times. Have seen pickup trucks full of dogs for hunting down boars, complete with locals with long rifles. And seen signs of litter cleanup sponsored by the Kauai hunting club. Shell of a giant turtle mounted on the wall, while another wall has the jaws of a giant shark. Stuffed owls, birds and even a bat. Another room has a display of the local birds native to Kauai. A second display of birds introduced to Kauai, who have taken over the place. Never stop by the Waimea Canyon nor this museum until after you see the Kalalau lookout! Nearby people stocking up on provisions for hiking, or before going to the Kalalau lookout, not knowing that the lookout is already covered by mist and fog by 10:45am. And wouldn't you know it, review 666! read more

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Checked out this Museum after having lunch at the park. Entered, it was interesting. Lots of old stuff, good to see. Lots of history items and information displayed. Things you can purchase. Very touristy for sure. read more

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If you're tackling the long drive to Waimea and Kalalau lookouts, you may as well stop by this tiny, charming museum. Its actually closer to being a gift shop for souvenirs, since theres only like two rooms worth of exhibits. Mostly taxidermy of local fauna along with examples of different types of wood throughout Kauai. There's also a short nature hike behind the museum, but since it was a bit drizzly we opted out. read more

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So what is wrong with da old lady behind da counter. She was rude, non-helpful and that is what we come in to get....is help!! Dis haole lady was like english or something european but very rude when you tried to ask for directions or help on hikes. She warmed up a bit after everyone had left and we had to keep asking questions, but if you are tired of answering questions, do not work in the tourism industry!!! They need someone there with more Aloha and friendliness who is there to answer questions. read more

I'm giving this place a 1 star due to the lady behind the counter . Me and my husband asked about one of the trails and its level . The lady advises us the trail was " easy " and the map stated strenuous . I asked her who was right and she Insisted the hike was easy . Well thank god my husband and I are in Great shape and workout 5/6 days a week . The trail was as stated on the map . All and all We had a great hike but would have liked to have been better informed about "death cliff " as I called it . read more

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A tiny museum, book and gift shop located on the right side of Kokee Lodge. You can buy hiking maps here. $2.00 map is almost useless. If you want a detailed one, get the $8.00 one. A little history around the area. YELP 365 - 241/365 read more

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Total and complete waste of time all due to the woman at the counter. The only good thing I have experienced with regards to this museum is finding it on Yelp and reading reviews and finding terrible reviews for this same reason that I have. The woman at the counter. It's true that she is arguably the rudest person I've had to deal with on all the islands. My family asked her for change for $2 (we wanted 8 quarters) so that we could use the pressed penny machine right outside the gift shop. She hesitated and said that she could only give us change for $1 because "the penny machine did not belong to her", whatever that means. Her tone of voice was the rudest I have ever heard from a stranger and she continued to be rude to my father who was just trying to get change so his kids could get some souvenir pennies. Continuing on, my mother asked to use the passport stamp because she collects these. After already seeing this woman's rudeness, my mother was afraid to ask her for a piece of paper to stamp on. She asked and the woman gave one to her and told her that the stamp was tricky so she had to press hard. When my mother proceeded to follow her instructions, the woman said "I should've told you not to press it on the glass...I'm surprised you didn't break the glass." Once again, the rudest woman we have had to deal with here on any of the Hawaiian islands. In addition, I listened to this woman interact with other guests and thought that maybe she was just being racist to my family. But I was proven wrong when I come to find that she is treating all guests with equal rudeness. A beautiful place and a beautiful museum ruined by a woman who seems to permanently be having the worst day of her life. read more

This is one of my very favorite places on Kauai. We drive up to Waimea Canyon and the Koke'e Museum pretty much every time we're on the island. We've seen the area pre- and post Hurricane Iniki. The museum is staffed largely by volunteers. Nice, doughty, helpful women. One entire room is devoted to the buildup and impact of Iniki. There are detailed time-lines on the wall and sometimes there's a video playing of the hurricane itself, compiled from professional and amateur videos shot at the time. The gift shop sells shirts and cards and books and calendars and Hawaiian artwork. I pretty much always buy a calendar when I'm here. There are several brown on white wood block prints by Dietrich Varez. I have one dedicated to Iniki on my office wall. I have a t-shirt w/ the same design that I treasure. There are other works of art. The rest of the museum is devoted to the flora, fauna and human history of Kauai. There are a few stuffed examples of birds and animals. There's an exhibit devoted to Queen Emma and her trek into the Alakai Swamp in 1871. This is a terrific place to learn about the birds of Kauai. I overheard today's volunteer explaining to a senior group a good way to see the area w/ trying to complete a 9 mile hike. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. The parking lot is overrun w/ Kauai's ubiquitous moa, feral chickens who are descendants of the domestic chickens scattered all over the island by the hurricane. Fearless and none too bright, they have few predators aside from domestic cats. They barely move away from the cars moving through the parking lot. Definitely local color. read more

Great history.

I remember coming here as a kid, for school field trips & such. Back then, I did not find it even a little bit interesting...seeing as I was a kid who thought history was boring & unnecessary back then. Ironically now, I'm in college majoring in Asian Studies (which is pretty much like a History major) & my minor is History...and get this, I'm even considering becoming a History teacher. That is something I never thought I would say. So with that then, my view of this museum (& pretty much all other museums) has forever changed since I was a kid. This place is great...& yes, great for kids too. Though they might not see it that way at first, they'll probably be thanking you in the end...and take that from someone who grew up hating history. There is no admission fee & it has a lot of great history about the island and the nature/wildlife surrounding it. They also have a little shop inside that sells some really interesting books & souvenirs. P.S. The parking lot of this museum is probably the one place on the island where you'll see the biggest population of chickens. I swear, if chickens could talk, they would probably be the ones running the museum instead of the workers/volunteers inside. 31 Yelps Review Challenge: #18/31 read more

I went there to ask about weather conditions for a hike and their exact response was 'ask god'. Well F*** you too lady.

A massive storm swept over the island on the exact night I got in, which made driving a little stressful. But the next morning was far worse. I drove up to the lookouts in the area, but saw nothing more than clouds and 55 degree rain. I decided to head to the museum instead of braving the elements and was welcomed with absolutely no power in the place. They supplied small lamps, which made the multiple taxidermy heads menacing in a comical way. I am glad I did not spend more than $3 for the museum, because it was first rate boring besides the humorously lit items. It told a bit of a story of the area, but wasn't comprehensive, by any means. There was an "interactive" touch-screen that was still working on independent power (that ran out after about 10 minutes), but the system for accessing information was really elusive, and the information was confusing. Overall, it served its purpose to kill some time while I figured out my next move, but it wasn't a fulfilling experience. Additionally, one of the caretakers was extremely rude. The other was hilariously pleasant despite the circumstances, but this was not a "can't miss" experience. read more

Exhibits are decent for getting a little natural history of the area. Good selection of books in the store. The museum also doubles as a visitor center and fails there. The woman who seemed to be in charge was the opposite of helpful. Actually a jerk even. Certainly the rudest person I dealt with over our whole stay over various islands. I think they get sick of people trying to figure out how to handle the crazy rain, but seriously, let someone else interact with people. read more

Very interesting exhibits on local wildlife and geology. Clearly a labor of love, and free admission!

The canyon is beautiful but we were given some bad directions on a hike from the person behind the register at the museum. We asked for a easy 1.5 mile hike and was directed to an extremely difficult hike that ended up being about 4 hours. The hike was beautiful but way beyond our physical capabilities. read more