The Lyman Museum gives a good bite-sized story of the island of Hawaiʻi and its culture. The staff is well educated, and there is a good selection of videos. The Lyman family home next door is a second, separate booking, and you can only see it on a guided tour.
Visitors touring the two facilities can see the old Mission House and life as it was 150 years ago, as well as state-of-the-art exhibits on many aspects of Hawaiian natural history and culture. This is a great place to visit with kids on a rainy day in Hilo.
If you want to give your visit to Hawaiʻi a solid cultural backing, have a look at the museums on the Big Island.
Lyman Museum building
The Smithsonian-affiliated Lyman Museum began as the Lyman Mission House, originally built for New England missionaries David and Sarah Lyman in 1839. Nearly 100 eventful years later, in 1931, the Museum was established by their descendants.
It tells the story of Hawaiʻi’s islands and people through its exhibits on Hawaiʻi’s volcanic origins, flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world, Hawaiian culture, and other ethnic groups that have shaped the unique society of Hawaiʻi today. It houses a superb collection of artifacts, fine art, and natural history exhibits as well as an archives, special exhibitions and a gift shop.
The Lyman Museum was built in the 1960s, adjacent to the historic 1838 missionary house. Hilo, Hawaii. Photo credits: W Nowicki
Lyman Mission House
The Lyman Mission House, next door to the Lyman Museum, was built in the 1830 by missionaries David and Sarah Lyman. It is the oldest standing wood structure on the Island of Hawaiʻi and one of the oldest in the State. It features furniture, tools, household items and artifacts used by the Lymans and other early missionary families. The stairs inside are steep and there is no elevator, so anyone using a wheelchair, or with limited mobility, can see the main museum but not the house.
This mission house can only be visited on a guided tour, and there are three a day. This docent-guided tour of the Mission House will convey a sense of what it meant to live 5000 miles and a 6-month journey away from your original home and family in a house without electricity or running water.
You will learn what it was like to settle in a location with a decidedly different language and culture from your own, while being driven by a sense of duty to bring Christianity and Western-style education to the Hawaiian people.
The Lyman House Museum. House of missionaries David Belden Lyman and Sarah Joiner Lyman, built in 1838, now a museum. Hilo, Hawaii. Photo credits: W Nowicki
Lyman Museum and House admission and opening hours
The Lyman Museum is open 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. It closes on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Good to know: museum entry and the Mission House tour are two separate bookings, not one ticket. The house runs three guided tours a day, at 10:05 am, 12:20 pm and 2:35 pm, each about half an hour and capped at 5 people. Reserve online or by phone for either; walk-ins depend on space that day.
Museum admission:
- Kamaʻāina: $5 adults, $3 seniors, $2 children (ages 6-17)
- Out-of-State: $7 adults, $5 seniors, $2 children
- University Students: $3
Mission House tour, booked separately:
- Kamaʻāina and Out-of-State: $3 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children (ages 6-17)
- University Students: $2
Rates and hours checked against the museum’s own site on 31 July 2026.
Lyman Museum and House directions
The Lyman Museum and Mission House are minutes away from downtown Hilo, at the corner of Haili Street and Kapiolani Street. The museum sits 0.4 miles up Haili Street from Kamehameha Avenue, on the right. Park on the street or in the lot next to the Mission House. You can find them at 276 Haili Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 or call +1 808 935 5021. Lyman Museum and Mission house website.
