Hawaii Children's Discovery Center

Lonely Planet review

If the beach somehow fails to stimulate your children, get them some hands-on-learning at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center. Occupying a 37,000-sq-ft waterfront site, once the city's old incinerator, its origins are evidenced by the surviving smokestack reaching skyward from the building's center.

Although older kids may find some exhibits interesting, the museum is principally geared toward elementary school-aged children.

The museum has five main sections extending over three stories. The Tot Spot includes toys and games for toddlers. Fantastic You! explores the human body, allowing kids to walk through a mock stomach. More traditional displays are found in the Your Town section, where kids can drive an interactive fire engine, be bank tellers or TV interviewers. The other two sections, Hawaiian Rainbows and Your Rainbow World, relate specifically to Hawaii, and allow children to navigate a ship and swim with dolphins. You can get here from Waikiki via bus 19 or 20; it's a five-minute walk from the nearest bus stop on Ala Moana Blvd to the museum, and just opposite Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.