Family-Friendly Places on Oahu to Explore on a Rainy Day

Picture of Jeanne Cooper

Jeanne Cooper

After two decades of visiting Hawaii as a travel writer and wife of a triathlete, Jeanne now shares news and views of the islands from her home base on the Kohala Coast.

While Waikiki is justly famed for its sunny weather and sandy shore, winter and early spring do tend bring a few showers. Happily, families who don’t want their kids to revert immediately to their screens can stay dry indoors while enjoying these fun and educationally enriching experiences.

Oahu Waikiki Aquarium Clownfish
Courtesy of Waikiki Aquarium Facebook

Although several nifty exhibitions lie outside the main building—including giant clams with wildly frilly tinted  lips—seven indoor galleries make it well worth the admission (just $5 for ages 4 to 12, $12 for 13 and up) on sunny or rainy days. The themes may change from time to time, but you’ll always have a chance to peer at jewel-hued corals and reef fish from Hawaii, the South Pacific and other tropical waters; delicate fluttering sea horses and sea dragons; luminous floating jellies, and circling sharks and other predatory fish—all without having to don a snorkel mask.

You’ll also learn about marine conservation areas around the world, like the sprawling Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. For an additional $5 per person, you can book the half-hour Hawaiian Reef Animals program, which allows ages 4 and up to hold a sea star (aka starfish), touch a slippery sea cucumber and feed a spiky sea urchin; it’s available Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. If the rains clear up, visit the outdoor Edge of the Reef exhibition, tour the native plant garden and stop by the giant clams, coral farm and ocean aquaculture displays. The Honolulu Zoo is also just across the way.   

Oahu Bishop Museum Exhibition

Anyone can easily spend an entire day at the Bishop Museum, whose name recently expanded to include “the State Museum of Natural and Cultural History of Hawaii” and whose sprawling campus between the airport and downtown Honolulu certainly justifies the mouthful of a moniker. Families in particular, though, may appreciate the number of interactive and immersive exhibits, including learning about celestial navigation in the J. Watumull Planetarium and about volcanos in the Hot Spot Theater. Offered at noon and 2:30 p.m. Saturday through Monday, the latter program includes touching different lava rocks and seeing molten lava pour out of a furnace heated to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Older children as well as parents may also appreciate the interactive cultural exhibits among the many treasures of the three-story Hawaiian Hall, where I first discovered the Hawaiian lore for each phase of the moon and got to practice tapping out motions to a simple hula using kala‘au, or rhythm sticks. The two-story Pacific Hall offers similar insights into the peoples of Oceania, or Moaninuiakea in Hawaiian, and their migrations across the Pacific.

When you get hungry (I know I always get hungry in a museum), duck into the museum’s outpost of the venerable Highway Inn. Local-style options include mixed plates with kalua pig, shoyu chicken or beef stew, plus poke and Spam musubi; sandwiches, salads and a Portuguese sausage hot dog are also on the menu. Try the haupia (coconut pudding) for dessert, either by itself or with purple sweet potato on a shortbread crust.

Oahu Children's Discover Museum Rainforest Adventures

Founded in 1998, this colorful museum near the waterfront in Kakaako boasts five  galleries with interactive exhibits for school-age and younger children, along with a kids cafe. According to the museum’s website, its goals are “to help children develop positive self-concept and an understanding of others in Hawaii’s multicultural community, and to offer them a ‘window to the world’ beyond our island shores.”

One of its most popular galleries is the Rainforest Adventures, which focuses on natural resources and conservation and includes a separate Little Explorers play area for ages 3 and under. Some themes are universal—the Your Town gallery prompts kids to imagine what their adult careers might be, while the Fantastic You gallery highlights human anatomy—while Hawaiian Rainbows shares special traditions from the islands’ history and Your Rainbow World does the same for other cultures. 

Children enjoy various games in a brightly lit room with vibrant green and blue walls typical of Waikiki family activities. Two girls play Connect Four at a round table in the foreground, while other kids engage in different activities at tables in the background. A TV is mounted on the wall.
Courtesy of OUTRIGGER Reef Waikiki Beach Resort

Exclusive for guests of OUTRIGGER Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, this daily program for children ages 5 to 12 takes place in a beautiful ocean-themed activity center. Parents can book a half-day session (9am to noon or 1 to 4pm) or a full day (9am to 4pm, including a catered kid-friendly lunch from Monkeypod Kitchen.) Hands-on activities include making lei, key chains, sand art and photo frames with ocean materials; kids also get to play games that teach them about Hawaii and ocean conservation. (Parents with a desire to make their own crafts or learn more about Hawaiian traditions can check out the programs in the resort’s Ao Cultural Center.)

Win a 5-night stay at the Outrigger Waikiki Paradise Hotel

Scroll to Top