Gallery of California History
The Gallery of California History preserves the state’s history over more than three centuries, chronicles transforming events, conveys the stories of California’s many peoples, and serves as a classroom for tens of thousands of schoolchildren each year.
- Gold fever strikes these students during the program, Those Fabulous ‘49ers. Photo by Meoy Gee.
- A complete reinstallation of the collections.
- Flexible exhibit environments that allow regular rotation of objects or showcase new aspects of historical events.
- Stories and first-hand accounts of peoples traditionally under-represented in the California historical narrative.
- Discovery Drawers allow access to more collection objects.
- Resource Centers help visitors make connections between historic periods of change and current issues and impacts.
- Immersive Environments - from a Japanese internment camp to a railroad box car and Hollywood screening room.
- A Hands on History Center (working title) will provide in-depth experiences, flexible programming spaces, and opportunities for visitors to learn about techniques used by historians.
- A Contemporary History exhibition space for special exhibitions, such as the annual Days of the Dead installations, and for more experimental exhibitions that involve community participation, visitor response, and interdisciplinary presentations.
- Maidu feasting basket, collected by Charles P. Wilcomb
The Oakland Museum of California has one of the largest and finest collections of Native Californian baskets in the world.
Thanks to a grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services, our conservation team is working hard to clean and re-house the fragile basket collection, preserving it for years to come.
During construction, visitors can learn about California's first peoples in the temporary exhibition, The Art and History of Early California.
