History, as the saying goes, is just one damn thing after another. For the Bishop Museum, there's some truth in that.

Over the past two decades, the venerable institution has struggled through financial trials, bitter public disputes over its mission, low staff morale and the mishandling of priceless Hawaiian artifacts.

More recently, in June, the museum laid off 14 people and two top executives resigned. And if someone doesn't take over the Falls of Clyde, the cash-strapped museum will be forced to sink the 128-year-old four-masted ship.

But times change, and the news isn't all gloomy.

The museum's $21 million renovation of its iconic Hawaiian Hall could reinvigorate Hawai'i's history for new generations of visitors.

This week's latest media tour of the project, which opens next summer, shows how the original beauty and elegance of the koa-lined Hall will come through, even as the building is upgraded to contemporary museum standards.

There will be technical improvements: video and touchscreens; ambient sounds of nature and Hawaiian chants; environmental controls and display cases that better protect the artifacts on display.

But perhaps more important will be how the museum tells Hawai'i's story, replacing a mishmash of collected pieces with focused exhibits, including the pre-contact era, daily life and culture and the influence of the ali'i.

It's hoped that the world's premier repository of Hawaiian history — which once packed 'em in with a replica of a dinosaur skeleton from South Dakota — will, through this renovation, bring a fresh perspective to our understanding of and appreciation for our host culture.

Surely the memory of the woman for whom Hawaiian Hall was built, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, deserves such respect.

So too does Hawai'i's rich and complex history, which continues to influence the social, cultural and political life of all who live here, kanaka maoli or not.

We should know this history better; otherwise, it will become nothing more than just one thing after another.