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Oakland Museum of California Announces July/August Family Programs and Events

(OAKLAND, CA)—The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) celebrates summer with fun family activities in the months of July and August. Weekly family activities take place during Friday Nights @ OMCA with Off the Grid food trucks, live music, extended Gallery hours, half-off admission for adults, and free admission for ages 18 and under! The last Friday of each month features family storytime with the Oakland Public Library.August also signals the return of the annual Summer Reading Celebration, featuring live performances, a petting zoo, storytime, and hands-on activities for all ages. OMCA always offers great deals on admission for families, with regular admission for youth ages 9 to 17 at $6. Children 8 and under visit for free! For more information about OMCA’s programs, events and exhibitions, visit museumca.org.

CALENDAR EDITOR PLEASE LIST:
EVENTS, COMMUNITY EVENTS

Free First Sunday
Sunday, July 6, 2014, 11 am–5 pm
OMCA is free all day the first Sunday of every month. Visit major exhibitions SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot, and Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records, and hang out in the Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences. Enjoy OMCA’s beautiful terraced gardens. Join the Architecture Tour at 1 pm or tour the Gallery of California Art at 2 pm. Grab lunch or a snack at Blue Oak café.

Friday Nights @ OMCA
Fridays in July, 5–9 pm*
Join OMCA and Off the Grid on 10th Street every Friday for a family-friendly take on a festive night market. In July, enjoy food trucks, DJs and live bands, free dance lessons, and extended hours for the Museum galleries, OMCA Store and Blue Oak café. Catch the final month of popular exhibitions Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records and SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot. The popular family-friendly drop-in activity pays homage to summertime with pinwheel making from 6 to 8 pm! Adults enjoy half-off gallery admission, and ages 18 and under are free! Bring the whole family to OMCA for great Bay Area curbside cuisine—and so much more!
*Please note, Friday Nights @ OMCA takes a break on July 4, and the Museum will be closed all day in observance of the holiday.

Storytime with the Oakland Public Library
Friday, July 25, 6–6:30 pm
Friday, August 29, 6–6:30 pm
Share a love of reading with the children in your life during the last Friday Nights @ OMCA of each month. Enjoy family-friendly storytime with guests from the Oakland Public Library.

Friday Nights @ OMCA
Fridays in August, 5–9 pm
Join OMCA and Off the Grid on 10th Street every Friday for a family-friendly take on a festive night market. In August, enjoy food trucks, live music and DJs, free dance lessons, extended hours for Museum galleries, the OMCA Store, and Blue Oak café. The family-friendly drop-in activity for August features rock nature painting from 6 to 8 pm! Adults enjoy half-off gallery admission, and ages 18 and under are free! Come to OMCA for a truly Oakland outing!

Free First Sunday | Summer Reading Celebration: Paws to Read!
Sunday, August 3, 2014, 12–4 pm
OMCA is free all day the first Sunday of every month. Join us in the Museum gardens for the annual Summer Reading Celebration with the Oakland Public Library: Paws to Read! Special activities include Germar the Magician and Rad Sanza, caricature artist. Celebrate this year’s theme with Little Explorers Petting Zoo, and make bear paws and snouts with the California Historical Society to take home. Enjoy games and face-painting led by Oakland Parks and Recreation, and explore all three Galleries of the Museum! Children who have completed the Summer Reading Program will receive a special certificate of achievement. With story time, hands-on arts and crafts, and more, find new ways to learn and celebrate a summer of reading.

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. 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 artist-led activities, storytelling in the galleries, and frequent hands-on, drop-in projects throughout the Museum. OMCA’s other family-friendly offerings include interactive Gallery Hunt cards available at the ticketing desks, Docent-led family gallery tours, and large annual festivals such as Lunar New Year in February, the August summer reading event in conjunction 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. Free First Sundays are made possible in part by Wells Fargo.The Summer Reading Celebration is presented in partnership with the Oakland Public Library and City of Oakland Parks and Recreation.  Friday Nights @ OMCA is presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA. Friday Nights @ OMCA art activities are made possible in part through the generous support of the Walter and Elise Haas 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.

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