Oakland Museum of California - the best place to spend a Friday Night in the San Francisco Bay area

Dancing is not only permitted, it's encouraged.

Oakland Museum of California, or OMCA, is one of the most pleasant museums I've ever visited (and I've visited quite a few). If you generally like museums, go to OMCA. If you generally do not like museums, go to OMCA still. If you can, go there on a Friday night, when tickets are half-price (free for everyone under 18), there's live music on the courtyard, street food for sale from food carts as well as beer and wine from local small producers, and themed guided tours in the exhibitions. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of people of all ages and the mood was generally very relaxed and good.

Because one always has to have some complaints, I complain about the queues to the food carts.

Even if you are not in Oakland on a Friday night, OMCA is well worth visiting. The permanent historical exhibition is well designed and executed, covering a very wide range of subjects but compact enough to be comprehensible and not overwhelming. I was particularly impressed by the way the exhibition deals with the history and experience of "common people" and their stories. For example the sections dealing with Native American peoples of California and social history of 1960s and 70s were created co-operatively with local residents and communities, showcasing everyday stories of ordinary people in an interesting and engaging way. In addition to the historical exhibition, there are also natural history and temporary themed exhibitions.

In OMCA, the Native Americans tell their own stories.

Local memories from 1960s, many people from Oakland seem to remember it as a dark and violent decade.

Ronald Reagan's poster for the 1968 Republican party presidential candidate race. That time, he lost.

During the Great Depression of late 1920s and early 30s many people from th American Midwest went to California to look for a better life. They often rode overloaded T-model Fords like this one.

Many things are invented in California, for example portable computer.

OMCA isn't afraid of dealing with difficult matters.

We visited OMCA on June 26th 2015, on a Friday night.