July 29, 2004
MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BISHOP MUSEUM AWARDED $445,521 GRANT FOR NATURAL SCIENCE RESEARCH UNDER DR. NEAL EVENHUIS
HONOLULU – Bishop Museum has been awarded a $445,521 grant from the National Science Foundation to upgrade the digital databasing of its world-renowned entomology collection. Bishop Museum was one of the first museums in the country to make its holdings of insect specimens available to the world via the Internet. This grant will significantly enhance the information already available by funding a three-year study to catalog Hawaiian flies and beetles in the Museum collections. Upon completion, this project will bring the Museum’s important collection of Hawaiian insects to the public through the Internet, scientific publications, and educational programming at the Museum. Under the direction of the Chairman of Natural Sciences, Dr. Neal Evenhuis, the grant will allow for the completion of the Museum’s efforts to database its collection of Hawaiian flies and beetles. Information for a total of about 180,000 specimens of flies (76,000) and beetles (104,000) will be entered into a database at roughly 60,000 records per year by a team of technicians, volunteers, and curators at the Museum. The Museum’s collection of Hawaiian flies and beetles includes many rare, endangered, and vulnerable species. By providing easy, up-to-date, and reliable access to the Museum’s collections, researchers and students from around the world will be able to readily utilize this important information. “We believe that sound decision-making processes can only occur if one has accurate and readily accessible information,” explained Dr. Neal Evenhuis. “Conservation initiatives underway in Hawai‘i to protect threatened and endangered species require access to information quickly, accurately, and with regard to an array of locations.” In addition, the grant supports the interaction of Hawaiian and Pacific island school children with the information provided on the Bishop Museum’s educational web site. Access to the Museum’s vast stores of information on Hawaiian insects will enhance knowledge and appreciation of their natural heritage for these young scholars, and will stimulate interest in the biological sciences among Hawaiian and Pacific Island youth. A treasured resource of Hawaiian history and heritage, Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop as a tribute to his wife Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha dynasty. Located at 1525 Bernice Street, the Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $14.95 for adults; $11.95 for youth 4-12 years; special rates for kama‘āina, seniors and military; children under 4 years and Bishop Museum Association members are free. For information, call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org. ###