Haleakalā National Park is inviting residents and visitors to explore newly installed exhibits at its Summit Visitor Center, where displays now share the story of the volcano in both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and English for the first time at any national park site in the region. The 9,740-foot building sits on the crater rim in the park's Summit District, a perch that draws hundreds of thousands of travelers each year for sweeping crater views and sunrise watching.
Superintendent Natalie Gates said the bilingual displays mark a milestone for how the park tells its own story. As reported by Maui Now, Gates said the exhibits in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and English share the story of Haleakalā and are a first for national park sites in the region. The park worked closely with kūpuna and subject matter experts who contributed knowledge in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, exhibit design, anthropology and cultural relevance to shape the new displays, according to the same report.
Before the public was welcomed back inside, the park performed an oli of gratitude and celebration, the outlet notes. That ceremonial send-off underscores how central Native Hawaiian voices were to the project, rather than treating language and culture as an add-on to the exhibit design.
Why Hawaiian Text Carries Extra Weight Here
The presence of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi inside a federal park building carries historical resonance beyond the exhibit hall itself. Hawaiian was recognized as an official state language alongside English in 1978 through an amendment to the Hawaiʻi State Constitution, according to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. Separately, Hawaiian was effectively banned as a language of education in public schools in 1896. Seen against that history, a national park building presenting its core narrative bilingually reflects decades of language revitalization work rather than a simple curatorial choice.
The visitor center building reopened in May 2026, per the National Park Service. The new bilingual exhibits now unveiled follow that reopening.
A Park With Outsized Ecological Stakes
Haleakalā's summit sits within a park boundary that carries unusual ecological weight. An analysis by the National Parks Conservation Association found that Haleakalā National Park protects 103 federally listed endangered species, including 81 flowering plants and 10 birds, more than any other national park in the country, according to Islands. That distinction gives the visitor center's interpretive role added significance, since it functions as a primary educational touchpoint for the roughly 732,477 people who visited the park in 2024.
The visitor center building sits at 9,740 feet on the crater rim. Visitors planning early trips should also note that the National Park Service has required an advance vehicle reservation for sunrise viewing between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. since February 2017.
Funding Partners Behind the New Displays
Gates credited the park's philanthropic partners for making the exhibit possible, saying the new displays could not have been created without the Haleakalā Conservancy and Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association, the outlet reports. The Haleakalā Conservancy, established in 2019, serves as the park's official philanthropic partner, securing community and donor funding for projects focused on native ecosystem protection, site preservation and education, according to the Haleakalā Conservancy.
As superintendent, Natalie Gates works at a park that balances heavy visitor demand with the protection of some of the nation's rarest native species. The new bilingual exhibits share the story of Haleakalā with the public.
