From The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii Best Nearby Museums (Attractions & Activities) (10 Overall Closest) Metro: Big Island, HI Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center (Attractions & Activities - Museums) Keahole-Kona International Airport, Kailua-Kona  HI  96740 • 808-329-3441 Distance: ~20.39 mi         Description: KONA COAST. This informative facility is located just a few miles north of Kailua-Kona – at Keahole-Kona International Airport, to be exact. What the museum lacks in size, it more than makes up for in quality, and first-rate exhibits feature model rockets, moon orbitals, space shuttles, moon rocks, and a working gravity well. The museum is named after Big Island native Ellison Onizuka, one of the astronauts who perished in the 1986 Challenger accident. Kona Historical Society Museum & Greenwell Store (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 81-6551 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kealakekua  HI  96750 • 808-323-3222 • 808-323-2006 Distance: ~31.02 mi         Description: CAPTAIN COOK. Englishman Henry Nicholas Greenwell arrived on the Big Island around 1850 and, soon after, purchased a parcel of land in Kalukalu. On his farm, he raised cattle and grew everything from pumpkins and coffee to tobacco and corn. The only standing reminder of Greenwell's legacy is a stone-walled general store, which now houses a museum chock full of historic photos and artifacts. This rustic structure dates from the 1870s and was the community gathering place for several years. The Society also offers walking tours of the historic Uchida coffee farm and the village of Kailua – call ahead for reservations. Lyman Mission House and Museum (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 276 Haili St, Hilo  HI  96720 • 808-935-5021 Distance: ~52.42 mi         Description: HILO. When David and Sarah Lyman finished their Big Island home in 1839, it was one of the island's most unique. The house's architecture is a masterpiece of juxtaposition – the Lymans used hand-hewn, local koa wood to build the New England-style home. (The tin for the roof, it should be noted, was imported from Great Britain.) Over the years, the home received a variety of famous guests, including Robert Louis Stevenson and Mark Twain. Today, the place is a history museum and celebrates missionary life in Hawaii with interactive exhibits, original furniture, tools, and the Lymans' personal effects. Pacific Tsunami Museum (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 130 Kamehameha Ave, Hilo  HI  96720 • 808-935-0926 Distance: ~52.61 mi         Description: HILO. On the east coast of the United States, hurricane season runs from June to November, and coastal residents keep track of weather systems while meteorologists chart low and high pressure systems. In Paradise, however, the seasonal threat of tsunamis is something islanders live with daily. In fact, the Big Island's largest town was almost completely leveled by tsunamis on May 23, 1960. This museum dedicates itself to educating locals and visitors about this threat via oral history programs, pictorial displays, and scientific exhibits. Copyright ©2001 10Best Inc. All rights reserved.