The Oakland Museum of California is undergoing a US$53m (£26m) renovation to mark its 40th anniversary.

The museum, which exhibits Californian art, natural history and cultural history, will acquire additional gallery space, new permanent exhibitions and interactive visitor features, over the next four years.

The result will be “a more engaging, accessible museum,” said Lori Fogarty, the museum’s new executive director.

The US$58m (€36.7m, £29.3m) was raised in part by Measure G, an Oakland bond measure that allotted US$16.1m (£10m) for the project’s capital improvements. The remaining US$45m (£22m,€28m) is being raised by a campaign targeted at private donors.

Architectural firm Mark Cavagnero Associates will be overseeing the renovation, which will result in the art gallery being extended by 4,000sq ft (371sq m) – space gained from the enclosure of two outdoor sculpture courtyards. This will create areas for individual artist collections, large-scale installations and media-based art. It will also feature an interactive education facility called the Eyes-On Art Discovery Centre.

The museum’s History Department will also gain a new 800sq ft (74 sq m) gallery, which offers a hands-on education centre and an area for contemporary, community-based exhibitions on current social issues.

The refurbished Natural Science Gallery will feature new multimedia theatres, interactive exhibitions and displays that explore the impact of humans on California’s environment. There will also be two new areas dedicated to exploring the marine environment and California’s prehistoric era, as well as a new museum shop.

As well as investing $16.1m (£8m,€10m) into capital improvements for the museum, Measure G funded $7.5m (£3.8m, €4.7m) which will help create a new 62,000 sq ft (5,760 sq m) California Collections and Research Centre to accompany the museum in Oakland. It will be used to preserve collections formerly stored in the Oakland Army base.

The museum’s art and history galleries are due to reopen in 2009 and work on the Natural Science Gallery is expected to be completed by 2011.