University of California Museum of Paleontology, Natural history museum in Berkeley, United States

The University of California Museum of Paleontology is a natural history museum in Berkeley that houses extensive fossil collections from different time periods. Some collections are displayed in a building on campus and feature skeletons of large extinct animals among other specimens.

The collection began with fossils found during geological surveys in 19th century California. The museum was later established and grew into a major research institution.

The museum's name honours its home campus, and its founding in 1921 is tied to Annie Montague Alexander, who pushed for a dedicated paleontology museum and later funded a doctoral fellowship still awarded today. Each April the museum holds an open house, when the research collections normally closed to the public can be visited.

Visitors can view fossil displays in a building on campus even though the museum primarily serves research purposes. It helps to check which areas are open and when visiting is possible before you go.

UCMP was one of the first museums to have its own website, launched in the early 1990s thanks to the university's Internet connection. The site was nominated for a Webby Award five times, received a medal from the Smithsonian Institution, and appeared briefly in the film Deep Impact under an incorrect name.