‘Aloha Bricks ’26’: Kaua‘i middle school students among those who express school pride in newest Bishop Museum exhibit

Bishop Museum, Hawai‘i’s museum of natural and cultural history, presents “Aloha Bricks ’26: Stories of Hawai‘i,” a family-friendly exhibit celebrating people, places, plants, animals and legends that shape the islands.

In partnership with Hawaiʻi LEGO Users Group and middle school students from throughout the state — including several from Kauaʻi — the exhibit combines play and culture through dynamic models, original artwork and hands-on experiences.

“Bricks” opens Saturday (March 14) in the Bishop Museum Castle Memorial Building.

One of the exhibit highlights is a Middle School Mosaic Gallery, representing 50 schools throughout Hawaiʻi with LEGO-like brick creations built by students.

“Building the exhibit has been a lot of fun for us internally and we wanted to find a way to share that fun with the broader community,” said “Bricks” lead designer and Bishop Museum Director of Exhibits Brad Evans in announcing the upcoming exhibit. “Statewide, there was just the right amount of middle schools to fill up our back gallery with brick mosaics of their logos and mascots.”

Evans said the museum put out the word and 50 schools from all the main islands responded. All together, students from the various schools placed nearly half a million bricks on the mosaics.

Student teams spent several weeks building their mosaics for installation. The mosaics will be returned to the schools to keep when the exhibition closes.

“I really enjoyed this project!” said Island School on Kauaʻi social studies teacher Jamie Nause in the exhibit announcement. “It was a great way for students to work together and succeed in feeling satisfaction about a project in which they only saw a small piece at first, and then saw the entire finished mosaic put together.”

Different students had different approaches to their builds, along with different preferences as well, while working in their teams.

“My preference [in building with bricks] is definitely to build based on instructions instead of free play,” shared Island School student Patrick. “I always end up making a mess with no instructions. Instructions guide your way and help you build correctly — unless you accidentally do something wrong.”

Additional features of “Aloha Bricks ’26: Stories of Hawaiʻi” include:

• Mini-figure scale models of Hawaiian landmarks such as Hawaiʻi Theatre, ʻIolani Palace and USS Arizona Memorial, plus a Pasha Hawaiʻi container ship and Hawaiian Airlines fleet through the decades.
• Large-scale brick sculptures of endemic Hawaiian species such as humuhumunukunukuapua‘a, kalo and Kamehameha butterfly.
• “Tales of Maui” installation.
• 2-D mosaics of Hawaiian flora and fauna inspired by species researched by Bishop Museum scientists.
• Interactive and immersive experiences including a 10-foot wave and Free Play Zone.

Students shared many creative suggestions when asked what they’d like to see in future “Bricks” exhibits, from representations of their home islands to characters from popular culture.

“I would like to see them build a model of Kauaʻi,” said Island School student Gemma.

Nause and other teachers involved with the exhibit also shared their thoughts about the impact it might have on students.

“Seeing three-dimensional representations of Hawaiʻi helps students to see meaningful parts of our lives in tangible ways,” Nause said. “For example, our school mascot the Voyager is deeply integral to the culture and history of Hawaiʻi. When students can see concrete representations of the mascots that embody our schools, they can feel more of a connection to the schools and communities that make up Hawaiʻi.”

Additionally, the inclusion of Island School in the exhibit is a source of pride for its students. Students involved in “Bricks” also get a sense of pride and school spirit knowing they had a hand in creating a mosaic for the exhibit.

“Many students have expressed interest and excitement in seeing the other school mascots that are involved,” Nause added. “As many other schools make up our communities, students feel a sense of togetherness when the entire community is celebrated and united.”

Visit the “Aloha Bricks ’26: Stories of Hawaiʻi” web page on the Bishop Museum website for additional information about the exhibit.