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Explore EXCORE

The Art of Underwater Science

A person holds a steaming mug with both hands, sitting on a gray blanket. The person is wearing a cozy, cream-colored sweater and gray socks.
Welcome to EXCORE — Bishop Museum’s Center for the Exploration of Coral Reef Ecosystems. For decades, the EXCORE team has led the way in deploying — and even inventing — the world’s most advanced technologies to survey, study, and celebrate the astonishing biodiversity of coral reefs. Established to honor the Museum’s century-long tradition of technology-driven discovery, EXCORE carries that legacy forward, illuminating hidden corners of our oceans and bringing coral ecosystems to life for all who visit.
A man wearing swim goggles and an old-fashioned scuba breathing apparatus stands shirtless by the water.

Saving Global Biodiversity is a global call to explore and document Earth’s living library—before it’s lost. With most species still undiscovered, especially in the ocean’s depths, urgent action is our best hope for humanity’s future.

Learn More About EXCORE
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Opening Soon!

August 24, 2025 -
March 22, 2026

Museum Hours

Open Every Day
9 am – 5 pm

Ages

All Ages

Location

J.M. Long Gallery

Admission

Included with General Admission

Adults: $38.95
Seniors (65+): $35.95
Youth (4–17): $30.95
Children (3 and under): Free
Children age 16 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Black-and-white photo of a large steam-powered ship with two masts anchored on calm water, a small rowboat alongside, and land visible in the background.Black-and-white photo of a large steam-powered ship with two masts anchored on calm water, a small rowboat alongside, and land visible in the background.
Among the first items deposited at Bishop Museum were fishes collected by the USS Albatross – the cutting-edge ocean exploration technology of its time.
Photo Credit: U.S. Army History Institute.
A brightly colored sea slug with blue, brown, white, and orange markings crawls on dark ocean floor sediment.A brightly colored sea slug with blue, brown, white, and orange markings crawls on dark ocean floor sediment.
Through a macro lens, this small but extraordinary nudibranch (or sea slug, Philinopsis speciosa) looks huge.
Photo Credit: Brian D. Greene.
Two scuba divers in wetsuits and flippers float underwater, each holding flashlights and wearing rebreathers, surrounded by deep blue water.Two scuba divers in wetsuits and flippers float underwater, each holding flashlights and wearing rebreathers, surrounded by deep blue water.
EXCORE researchers Richard Pyle (left) and Brian Greene (right) pioneered the use of closed-circuit mixed-gas rebreathers to explore coral deeper than can be reached with SCUBA.
Photo Credit: Michael Pitts.
A diver examines a coral-covered underwater wall while a submersible with bright lights hovers nearby in deep blue water.A diver examines a coral-covered underwater wall while a submersible with bright lights hovers nearby in deep blue water.
This frame from a 360°-camera video shows a team of EXCORE divers conducting research at a depth of 260 feet (80 meters) off American Samoa.
Photo Credit: Richard L. Pyle.
A scuba diver uses a large vacuum-like device to collect samples from the ocean floor near a coral reef.A scuba diver uses a large vacuum-like device to collect samples from the ocean floor near a coral reef.
EXCORE invented an electric underwater “vacuum” device for collecting specimens of fishes and invertebrates from coral-reefs, shown here being used below 300 feet (90 meters) in Vanuatu.
Photo Credit: John L. Earle
A transparent marine worm with long, delicate appendages floats against a dark background.A transparent marine worm with long, delicate appendages floats against a dark background.
A larval deepwater cusk eel (Lamprogrammus sp.). The appendage below the fish is actually its intestines, which are absorbed into the body when it matures.
Photo: Brian D. Greene.
Two scuba divers examine scientific instruments and equipment placed on the ocean floor during an underwater research mission.Two scuba divers examine scientific instruments and equipment placed on the ocean floor during an underwater research mission.
The EXCORE team deploys sophisticated multi-sensor arrays at a depth of 330 feet (100 meters) in American Samoa, to document environmental parameters supporting climate change research.
Photo Credit: Brian D. Greene
A scuba diver swims underwater next to a tethered yellow and orange remotely operated vehicle in clear blue water.A scuba diver swims underwater next to a tethered yellow and orange remotely operated vehicle in clear blue water.
EXCORE is working with Stone Aerospace to adopt their autonomous robot technology – funded by NASA for space exploration – as the Coordinated Operational Platform for Underwater Science (COPUS) to explore coral reefs.
Photo Credit: Brian D. Greene

Step into the vivid world of EXCORE’s revolutionary underwater cinema — the most advanced video system ever built to document coral reefs in breathtaking clarity. Here, each frame is more than a stunning visual: it’s a permanent scientific record of 21st-century reef biodiversity, preserved today for generations to come. While only a glimpse of EXCORE’s growing digital archive is on display, these immersive films not only aid in protecting fragile ecosystems, they capture species that may vanish over the next 50 or 100 years — and inspire all who visit with the beauty and wonder of our planet’s underwater legacy.

Major Sponsor

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Contributing Sponsor

the first insurance company of hawaii logo.
Illustration of a prehistoric reptile skeleton, showing a long tail, ribcage, and elongated snout, similar to a crocodile's anatomy.
A black and gold eight-pointed compass rose with a white star in the center, positioned on the left side of a white background.
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OPEN DAILY 9 AM – 5 PM

1525 BERNICE STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI’I 96817

OPEN DAILY 9 AM – 5 PM

1525 BERNICE STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI’I 96817

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