Shore Trip Profile of the Day--Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum--Pu'unene Maui HI

Unless you are diabetic and/or on a low carb diet, I don't imagine that you spend a whole lot of your time just thinking about sugar. If, however, you are planning a cruise to the Hawaiian Islands and are culturally or economics minded, the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum is worth a slot in your shoreside time.

Though not large by museum standards, at 1800 square feet total, the facility does a good job of detailing the growth and influence of the sugar industry in Hawaii's history, and Maui's in particular.

It is located immediately adjacent to the largest working sugar mill in the state of HI, at Pu'unene on Maui, approximately a 10 minute drive from the Kahului Airport. The building in which it is housed used to be the residence of the superintendent of the sugar plantation.

Exhibits include static and interactive displays such as: geography of the region, importation of labor from China and Japan in the 1800's to work the fields, plantation life, implements and equipment used in the growing and processing of sugar, and descriptions of how sugar is milled.

The musuem is open Monday through Saturday year round, and on Sundays during high tourist season. For more information on hours, directions and contact, and current exhibits, refer to the web link included above.