After nearly three years, the only museum on Lanai that holds thousands of historical records and aims to perpetuate the island’s culture is getting back to operating in full swing.

In 2020, the Lana’i Culture & Heritage Center closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic but still offered as many resources as possible to stay afloat. On March 23, the organization announced that it would reopen for weekdays from 1 to 3 p.m. in the historic Dole Administration Building, Suite 118, at the top of Dole Park.

As staffing grows, the center will be open for longer hours.

“Lana’i Culture & Heritage Center is the only museum on the island, and we are the only entity that is completely devoted to the preservation and perpetuation of Lana’i’s rich history, culture and values,” Executive Director Shelly Preza said via email on Monday. “It is paramount that our organization continues to exist in order to ensure Lana’i’s cultural and historical legacy is kept alive and passed on to current and future generations.”

The museum was open off and on throughout the pandemic until staff decided in 2022 to focus efforts on community outreach and programming.

During the pandemic years, the organization launched its first-ever virtual exhibits, developed an online cultural literacy curriculum for students and hosted many community workdays and events outdoors, including some of the largest festivals on the island.

The museum also has a “Lana’i Guide” driving app that features significant cultural and historic sites on the island, including storied places such as Waiaopae Fishpond, Kaunolu Heritage Complex and Hii Agricultural Heiau.

Preza said that there are currently two student interns who are assisting with opening the museum for more regular hours and expanding volunteer opportunities. The students have grown up on the island and “are excited to share what they’ve learned with visitors to the center,” she added.

Lana’i Culture & Heritage Center holds thousands of records, artifacts and memorabilia, including an oral history archive. The museum was founded as a community-based nonprofit in 2007, and aims “to protect, preserve and perpetuate Lana’i’s unique culture, heritage, and values,” Preza said.

The center continues to offer stewardship opportunities to preserve the island’s history, which includes nearly 100 years of ranching and 70 years of pineapple cultivation, as well as educational programs and workshops for students, residents and visitors to learn about Lanai’s landscape, wildlife and culture.

“These exhibits and educational opportunities help us keep our unique history and culture alive and also help us impart our community values, such as respect, humility, a sense of place and responsibility to care for Lana’i,” she said.

For example, about 45 volunteers on Saturday morning helped clear debris and remove invasive kiawe and lantana as part of efforts to revive the historic Ka Lanakila Church at Keomoku, which was built in 1903 by the island’s early settlers.

The wooden church was in regular use in the once-populated region until 1951 when the last of the Keomoku community moved upland to Lanai City. The museum restored and stabilized the church between 2010 and 2012 and installed educational signage.

“We were excited to see so many of our community members show up to volunteer,” Preza said. “This church is one of the last remnants of the community that lived at Keomoku in the early 1900s and is an important part of our modern history.”

Next, the second annual Kupulau Festival is set for April 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the Lana’i Culture & Heritage Center. The event highlights the work being done to restore health to native landscapes.

There will be live music, interactive education exhibits, food and native plants sales and giveaways.

“Events like these are opportunities to bring our Lana’i people together to create shared memories and to instill a sense of kuleana to care for our ‘aina as a community,” Preza said.

For more information about LanaiCHC and its programs, visit LanaiCHC.org.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.