The Oakland Museum of California is ready to party.

After two years of renovations and expansions, the "Museum of the People” will open its doors on Saturday, May 1, and invite the public in.

To celebrate the reopening, the museum is throwing a 31-hour free continuous party for the public. The festivities will begin at 11 a.m. and feature live music, film, yoga, food and games for children. Museum doors won’t close until 6 p.m. the next day.

The $62 million transformation will showcase tech-savvy interactive exhibitions and innovative, participatory features for visitors.

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Oakland voters can pat themselves on the back for helping fund the upgrade. They passed Measure G overwhelmingly (with nearly 76 percent approval) in 2002, and the $23.6 million raised from the measure gave the museum's transformation campaign a strong early launch.

What's new?

The first sign to visitors that things have changed at the museum is an updated Oak Street entrance with a 90-foot stainless-steel canopy. Right next to the entrance is a 150-foot art wall installed on a plywood construction barrier that is sure to dazzle visitors. The colorful mural is a collaborative effort between 20 diverse artists from across the state.

According to Oakland artist Favianna Rodriguez, who oversaw the art wall project, its aim is to pay homage to the state's political and cultural history and its various subcultures.

“It was a very positive project to work on because they (the Oakland Museum) were open to my ideas and the different communities I wanted to showcase,” she said.

The museum’s terraced roof gardens and central courtyard have also been spruced up.

Inside, the physical retrofits of the art and history galleries are extensive and impressive, rendering them nearly unrecognizable. The museum walls have been freshly painted in bright colors, the galleries have been expanded and warm light now pours into the new, airy spaces.

As part of the change, the Art Gallery has two new rooms, which showcase photography and recent modern acquisitions, and a series of interior balconies with overlooks now connect the Art and History galleries.

While the Art and History galleries will open this weekend, the Natural Sciences Gallery won’t open until 2012.

How's it different?

The museum’s facelift isn’t just a reworking of physical space. The museum has also decided to change the way it engages the public. That’s where technology comes in.

Using the latest digital interactive technology, many exhibitions now have an array of ways to make the museum’s displays, collections and stories more accessible. 

There are interactive journals for visitors, the building is now wired so people can get online for free on laptops, and there will be video and new interactive maps for some displays.

Museum staff said they wanted to strengthen the connection between visitors and objects in the galleries by inviting an ongoing dialogue. Much of the gallery content will also be multilingual, with versions in English, Spanish and Chinese.

Additional updates to the gallery spaces include open lounge areas, with movable furniture and resource areas, that will encourage visitors to look at and experience exhibitions from multiple perspectives. 

A new museum café, Blue Oak, and an on-site catering service will also be part of the transformation and open on Saturday. 

An urban resource becomes even better

Like the city it’s named after, the Oakland Museum of California has a rich, unique history. Created in 1969 by the city government, the museum always had a strong education and community mission, Oakland Museum of California Director Lori Fogarty said. With its massive transformation, the museum has recommitted to those goals.

“What we’re trying to do with this project is take that (mission) to the next level, not only in being welcoming and accessible, and relevant to the community," she said, "but directly involving the community members in this project.”

Check back with Oakland Local for daily stories and photographs about various aspects of the museum relaunch. 

And if you're planning to attend the party, tweet about it with #OMCA or see what other people are saying about it. Follow the Oakland Museum on twitter here.