Oakland Museum of California

The mission of the Oakland Museum of California is to inspire all Californians to create a more vibrant future for themselves and their communities. When the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) first opened its doors fifty years ago, it brought together three historically independent disciplines—art, history, and natural sciences—under one roof. This progressive multidisciplinary approach was to celebrate the many facets of California. Our collections—comprising more than 1.9 million objects including seminal art works, historical artifacts, ethnographic objects, natural specimens, and photographs—and our programs explore and reveal the factors that shape California character and identity, from its extraordinary natural landscapes, to successive waves of migration, to its unique culture of creativity and innovation.