The Ethnographic Museum of Tahiti and Islands is located on the west coast of the island of Tahiti, the main island of French Polynesia, in the city of Pyunoa. The museum was founded in 1974 at the initiative of the Territorial Assembly; on June 30, 1979, four permanent exhibition halls were opened for visitors. The ethnographic collection has more than 12,000 exhibits, including tools and implements (axes, knives, chisels, needles), traditional Polynesian vessels - Teitakoto pie, Wahitahi whaling vessel, canoes, navigation tools, oars, masts and steering wheels, as well as fishing gear , sinkers, anchors, hooks and lures. The museum has a large collection of works of decorative art of the peoples of Polynesia, jewelry, musical instruments, ritual and ceremonial objects made of wood, bone, coral and mother of pearl. The exposition dedicated to the natural wealth of Polynesia has a unique ornithological collection, numbering about a hundred stuffed birds, living mainly on the islands of French Polynesia, a collection of 1,685 sea shells representing 580 species of mollusks, as well as a large herbarium of plants in French Polynesia (1,500 species, 17,000 exhibits ) The collection of works of art has 3,000 exhibits. It contains sketches for the atlas made by James Cook, maps and diaries of the expedition of Dumont d'Urville, a collection of photographs taken in different places of French Polynesia in 1863 - 1950, as well as canvases by artists, natives of Tahiti - Octave Marillot, Guwe, Bullaire, Hayman, Masson and others. The museum holds temporary exhibitions, organizes scientific conferences and seminars, publishes catalogs and brochures. Visitors can stroll through the museum garden, where exotic plants are planted - paper Brussonetia, the bark of which is used to make high-quality grades of paper, intoxicating pepper (the traditional Polynesian cava drink is made from its root), banyan trees, coconut palms, breadfruit, hibiscus, ficus and a lot others.