Explore the Series
Series title: Museum Stories that Shape Us By Kelly Marsh-Taitano
Stories from the Collections: — Research and Insights from the Guam Museum
Explore artifacts, ancestral lifeways, CHamoru culture, and the history of Guåhan through articles written by Guam Museum curators and other staff.
- Feb 17, 2026
Museums around the world are created for many reasons. Some preserve art. Others focus on science or history. Many do all of this at once.
The Guam Museum has its own story, one rooted deeply in community, care, and the long work of remembering
The CHamoru creation story has been shared, remembered, and carried forward for perhaps millennia.
At the Guam Museum, visitors can experience that story in a powerful and immersive way through the film I Hinanao-Ta, “Our Journey.”
Before stepping into the museum’s theater to watch the CHamoru creation story or moving into the main exhibition space, visitors first enter a quiet room.
There, I Maga’håga welcomes guests to the Guam Museum and all it has to offer. It is both a threshold and an invitation, a space that prepares us for the journey of the CHamoru people over time.
- Mar 31, 2026
The beginning of the Guam Museum’s permanent exhibit offers visitors a rare experience.
While standing inside the gallery, one feels connected to the outdoors. Images of the ocean, trees, and waterfalls surround the space, gently dissolving the boundary between building and environment.
A ¼-scale sakman or ocean-going canoe rests quietly under soft light in the museum’s gallery, Ginen I Mañaina-ta or Our Ancient Heritage.
Built by the tatåsi or seafarers of Guåhan, its lines are well-designed and true, looking ready to slip into the water at any moment.
- May 19, 2026
The story of the museum begins decades ago, nearly 100 years in fact.
The first museums were small buildings at Plaza de España, with most of its years at one of Guam’s oldest buildings, the Garden House.
- May 19, 2026
The story of the museum begins decades ago, nearly 100 years in fact.
The first museums were small buildings at Plaza de España, with most of its years at one of Guam’s oldest buildings, the Garden House.