The Pacific Tsunami Museum has been stepping up its efforts to raise money while it works through a revitalization plan.
The iconic downtown Hilo museum was forced to close briefly in December due to lack of funding.
“A few months ago, we viewed the future with some trepidation, and our optimism was definitely guarded,” said museum Board Chair Carol Walker. “Now we have a plan, see progress, and feel hopeful and excited.”
The three-phase plan includes a 2025 fundraising goal of $1 million and changing the museum’s organizational structure, including its board of directors.
“A newly energized and engaged board will bring a diversity of experience and relationships to the museum,” Walker said. “They will participate in the planning process, set overall policy, ensure financial stability, and help build support in the community.”
The restructuring will include revisions to the museum’s by-laws, a new generation of board members, and individually targeted advisory committees focused on the areas of science, community and youth to “show the community and those investing in the museum that the board recognizes the need to make changes that are structural and will lay the groundwork for long-term sustainability and growth,” Walker said.
The forthcoming second phase of the revitalization will diversify revenue sources and increase the current operational capacity, Walker said, adding that during the third phase later this year, “our goal is to implement a new vision for the museum … that will fully realize its potential.”
The museum currently is open on weekends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with free admission for Hawaii residents under 18 and free admission for Hawaii residents of all ages on the first Saturday of every month.
Fundraising has been the museum’s focus since the revitalization plan was launched in late February. Walker said, so far, the museum has received $308,000 of the $520,000 that has been pledged to the museum through grants, fundraising events, and over 200 individual donations from across Hawaii and the United States.
A $100,000 donation from The Olsen Trust in December helped keep the museum operating at the begging of this year.
The embattled museum faced a rollercoaster of closures and reopenings during the pandemic and the subsequent years of recovery. Stopgap efforts to continue operations with bare-bones funding including reduced operating hours and layoffs that have even forced the museum’s president, Cindi Preller, to volunteer her time.
“The museum is working to integrate tsunami education into the fabric of Hawaiian communities so that knowledge and awareness aren’t lost between tsunami events,” Preller said of the museum’s importance to public safety.
Mayor Kimo Alameda and County Council member Ashley Kierkiewicz of Puna attended the first fundraiser in February, which was followed by presentations to partners like the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce in April and the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay in May, Walker said.
“We need the community’s support, and for them to understand that the Pacific Tsunami Museum performs and essential service,” Walker said. “We function as a critical bridge between disaster warning centers and emergency management agencies. At a time of cancelled and reduced federal funding for disaster preparedness and mitigation, it’s more important than ever to fund the museum’s work.”
Walker said the museum’s grant requests have either been awarded or are pending from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, the Shipper’s Wharf Committee Trust, the Hawaii County Council, and federal lawmakers.
The funds acquired so far include $150,000 in the state’s 2025-26 fiscal budget to support the museum’s Kama‘aina Initiative of “establishing a comprehensive statewide tsunami education network and response training,” Walker said. The Kama‘aina Initiative has allowed the museum to extend its educational efforts to over 1,000 students, teachers and administrators across the islands, she said.
She said the museum’s historic home in the C.W. Dickey building — which withstood both the 1946 and 1960 tsunamis whose heights are marked on the lighthouse in front of it — is in need of “immediate repairs and ongoing maintenance” that will be part of future work to restore the “building’s beauty and potential once the museum is in a position to pursue and manage a capital project of significance.”
She said the best way for the public to support the museum can be simplified to “the three D’s: donation, docents, dedication.”
“Any level of donation is hugely appreciated. Docents and other volunteers play an important role in making the museum an inviting space,” Walker said. “The D for dedication is critical. We need people to share our dedication to support the museum’s mission for the long run.”
Student groups interested in receiving guided education can be booked for presentations and tours by emailing museum@tsunami.org.
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.