Don’t know much about history? Don’t know much about biography? Don’t know much about the Hawaiian language? If you’ve gone on a Palace tour and want to know more, this course is for you. Our Royal History Course is an introduction to late 19th century Hawaiian history with an emphasis on the Royal Family and Iolani Palace. The $40 fee includes instruction, a manual, and membership in The Friends of Iolani Palace. The 2010 Royal History Course will be conducted from January 25 thru February 22. The class will meet on Mondays from 9 am to 3 pm. Although The Royal History Course is part two of the Docent training process, everyone is welcome.

For more information, please contact docent educator Zita Cup Choy at 522-0841 or e-mail educator@iolanipalace.org.

Docent training begins with guardian service, (change to link to return to info on being a guardian) followed by successful completion of the Royal History Course. The nine-week Docent Training Course will add to your knowledge of Palace and monarchy era history, develop your public speaking skills and prepare you to share Iolani Palace with friends, family, and visitors from around the world.

A $20 fee includes instruction, a training manual, lectures, field trips, and other materials. The 2010 Docent Training Course will begin on March 1st and continues thru April 28th. This class will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Reading assignments and homework add to the time commitment trainees make during this nine-week course. Prospective students are invited to begin serving their guardian hours NOW. For more information, please contact docent educator Zita Cup Choy at 522-0841 or e-mail educator@iolanipalace.org.

These two-day workshops offered by Fran McFarland are very popular -- many students rave about the hands-on approach to learning. The course includes a discussion on the cultural differences between Hawaiian and Western genealogical standard practices. You will visit the Hawai`i State Archives and Hawai`i State Library on the first day and the First Circuit Court Records and Bureau of Conveyance on the second day.

Instructor Fran McFarland specializes in teaching genealogical research in Hawai`i, not just for native Hawaiians, but for immigrant groups and foreigners who arrived here in the late 19th & early 20th centuries, and made Hawai`i their home. She was born and raised in Honolulu. She has helped thousands of people research their roots to find missing branches of the family tree or establish blood quantum for Hawaiian entitlement programs. She is a member of the Utah Genealogical Association.

Classes are conducted in the Kana‘ina Building on the ‘Iolani Palace grounds. They are held from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. on the 1st and 2nd Thursdays or 3rd and 4th Thursdays of the month. The cost is $75 and includes instruction, syllabus and workbook. Students must sign up for both days.

The remaining two-day workshops in 2010 will be offered on the following dates:

You are also invited to join the Hawai‘i Genealogy Help Group 2010 in Salt Lake City, Utah from June 21st – 25th, 2010. This trip includes five days of hands-on research at the Family History Library, the world’s largest genealogical collection. For more information or to register call Fran McFarland at 808-203-7245 or e-mail fjmvana@juno.com.