The program is part of a series, "Ho'ooulu Lahui Aloha — To Raise A Beloved Nation." The round table is sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, major donors to the Hawaiian Hall Renovation Project.

Panelists include Dr. Isabella Abbott, chair of Bishop Museum's Collection Committee and Wilder Professor of Botany Emerita, University of Hawai'i at Manoa; Glenn Mason, president of Mason Architects, Inc.; and DeSoto Brown, archivist and Hawaiian Hall Renovation Project committee member.

Computer access for OHA/OLELO programs is available for those who live on the Neighbor Islands and do not receive Channel 53. To access OLELO go to .www.olelo.org at 7 p.m. on the date of showing. Click on Viewers. Click on NATV Channel 53.

For more than a century, some of the most sacred and beloved treasures of the Hawaiian people have been housed in Hawaiian Hall. Completed in 1903, this building complex, with its volcanic stone exterior and extensive use o native koa, is considered a masterwork of the late Victorian museum design. Over time, however, the building's historic interior had deteriorated, and its exhibits, which reflected different years of museological, intellectual, and interpretive approaches, had become outmoded.

In July 2006, Bishop Museum launched a $21 million restoration project aimed at restoring the Hall to its architectural glory, while adding modern comforts such as elevators and air-conditioning. The project will also modernize the Hall's interpretation, bringing multiple voices and a Native Hawaiian perspective to bear on Bishop Museum's treasures.

Financial support has been provided by the State of Hawai'i, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools, the Frear Eleemosynary Trust, the J. M. Long, Vera M. Long, Geist, Cooke, Strong, and Atherton, Bank of Hawaii, A&B and Hawaii Community Foundations, as well as many private donors.

The hall is expected to reopen in summer, 2009.