I am traveling with my children to Oceania for the year 2000. Can you help with interesting people or places which are 'must sees'. We will travel to Hawaii, Cook islands, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. Unfortunately we will not be able to see the mysterious statues at Rapa Nui.

Dr. dig responds:
If I were to choose just one place for you and your children to see, I would suggest that you not miss the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The exhibits in this museum will give you an excellent overview of the arts and culture of the Pacific and it is considered by many to be the best Polynesian anthropological museum in the world. It also has Hawaii's only planetarium.

Here's a website that will give you further links to the archaeology of the Pacific Islands: www.plu.edu/~ryandp/poly.html