Skip to content

Oakland Museum of California Announces March/April 2015 Family Programs

(OAKLAND, CA)—The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) celebrates the return of spring and newly-opened family-friendly exhibition Bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact with family programs and activities throughout March and April, 2015. Family programs offerings continue with popular evening series Friday Nights @ OMCA,,featuring half-off admission for adults and free admission for ages 18 and under! In March, Friday Nights @ OMCA features a bee hotel-making activity; in April, the activity is superhero mask-making, inspired by special exhibition Sunshine and Superheroes: San Diego Comic-Con. OMCA Family Sundays continue, with a bee hotel-making program in March, and a performance featuring original music and songs inspired by the Darling family from Peter Pan! Free First Sundays, always a family favorite, are March 1 and April 5. OMCA always offers great deals on admission for families, with admission for youth ages 9 to 17 at $6. Children 8 and under visit for free! museumca.org

FAMILY EVENTS

Free First Sunday | March 2015

Sunday, March 1, 2015, 11 am–5 pm

Enjoy a free day at OMCA! Visit special exhibitions in all three of OMCA’s galleries, including Bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact in the Gallery of California Natural Sciences, and Sunshine and Superheroes: San Diego Comic-Con, on view in the Gallery of California History. Pick up a treat for yourself or a loved one in the OMCA Store, and enjoy a delicious seasonal lunch with a delightful kid’s menu in Blue Oak café.

Friday Nights @ OMCA 

Fridays in March, 2015, 5–9 pm

Oakland’s popular weekly night market is features fun and festivities with Off the Grid food trucks, local live music, California beverages, and extended hours in the Galleries and OMCA Store. The popular family-friendly drop-in workshop this month is “bee hotel-making”, inspired by special exhibition Bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact, and takes place every Friday from 5 to 8 pm! The last Friday of the month—March 27—includes story time with Oakland Public Library from 6 to 6:30 pm. Adults enjoy half-off Gallery admission and ages 18 and under are free! Bring the whole family to OMCA for a sampling of the best in Bay Area curbside cuisine!

Alameda County History Day 2015

Saturday, March 14, 2015, 12–4:30 pm

Come view projects ranging from dioramas to films to dramatic performances by over 150 students grades 4 to 12 from throughout the East Bay. Student projects in the competition include documentary films, dramatic performances, websites, papers, and exhibits addressing this year’s theme, “Leadership and Legacy in History.” Included with Museum admission.

OMCA Family Drop-in Workshop: Make a Bee Hotel

Sunday, March 22, 2015, 12–3 pm

Celebrate the spring by building your very own 5-star bee hotel to take home, inspired by the exhibition Bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact. Help the recovery of bee populations and encourage the pollination of your flower or vegetable garden with this fun hands-on project. Included with Museum admission. Members are always free. No reservations required. All ages welcome.

dance anywhere® at OMCA

Friday, March 27, 2015, 12 pm

Join OMCA for its fifth year hosting dance anywhere®, a simultaneous worldwide, public art, performance taking place at 12 noon in California, 3 pm in New York, and 8 pm in Rome and Paris. People of all ages and artistic capacities will dance just about anywhere you can imagine, and participants include professional dancers and artists, plumbers, doctors, soccer players, teachers and politicians, and YOU! Everyone is invited no matter age or ability. This year, the featured performer at OMCA is AXIS Dance Company, one of the world’s most acclaimed and innovative ensembles of performers with and without disabilities. Free to the public.

Free First Sunday

Sunday, April 5, 2015, 11 am–5 pm

It’s spring at OMCA! Explore science in the family-friendly exhibition Bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact. Round out your exploration of the galleries by painting a portrait of yourself to hang in the Gallery of California Art, and visiting Sunshine and Superheroes: San Diego Comic-Con, where you can dress up like a superhero. Check out a Docent tour and stop by the OMCA Store or Blue Oak café to pick up a treat. Free to the public.

Friday Nights @ OMCA

Fridays in April, 2015, 5–9 pm

Join OMCA and Off the Grid in April for family-friendly fun and festivities! Enjoy DJs, live bands, dancing, gourmet food trucks, and more. The family-friendly drop-in activity, making superhero masks, is inspired by special exhibition Sunshine and Superheroes: San Diego Comic-Con, and takes place every Friday from 5 to 8 pm. The last Friday of the month, April 24, also features story time with Oakland Public Library from 6 to 6:30 pm. Adults enjoy half-off gallery admission, and ages 18 and under are free!

OMCA Family Drop-in Performance: The Darling Song Cycle

Sunday, April 26, 2015, 1–4 pm

Join OMCA and performers Edward Schocker and The Darlings for a very special musical performance in the OMCA Gardens. The Darling Song Cycle is a set of original songs, inspired by relationships of The Darling Family in the story Peter Pan. The subject matter ranges from funny to sad to absurd—all with images and wordplay that children and adults will find meaningful. Included with Museum admission. Members are always free. No reservations required. All ages welcome.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) brings together collections of art, history and natural science under one roof to tell the extraordinary stories of California and its people. OMCA’s groundbreaking exhibits tell the many stories that comprise California with many voices, often drawing on first-person accounts by people who have shaped California’s cultural heritage. Visitors are invited to actively participate in the Museum as they learn about the natural, artistic and social forces that affect the state and investigate their own role in both its history and its future. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage.

ABOUT OMCA FAMILY

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to being a welcoming and lively place for Bay Area families to visit, learn, and engage through OMCA Family, with art activities, storytelling, and hands-on, drop-in projects throughout the Museum. OMCA’s other family-friendly offerings include free Gallery Hunt cards available at ticketing desks, Docent-led family gallery tours, and three large annual festivals: Lunar New Year in February, the Summer Reading Celebration in August with the Oakland Public Library, and the Days of the Dead Celebration in October. OMCA Family is made possible in part by generous support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Free admission for children provided by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Friday Nights @ OMCA is presented in partnership with Off the Grid, and is made possible in part by generous support from the Walter & Elise Hass Fund.

VISITOR INFORMATION

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. OMCA is situated between downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt. Museum admission is $15 general; $10 seniors and students with valid ID, $6 youth ages 9 to 17, and free for Members and children 8 and under. During Friday Nights @ OMCA, admission after 5 pm is half-off for adults, and free for ages 18 and under. OMCA offers onsite underground parking and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. The accessibility ramp is located at the 1000 Oak Street main entrance. For more information, visit museumca.org.

* * *