Museums and exhibits
The University has a wealth of treasures on display within walking distance of most of your classes. Admission is free when you show your Cal 1 Card (student ID).

The Bancroft Library, with its entrance facing the Campanile, is one of the largest and most heavily used libraries of manuscripts, rare books, and special collections in the United States. The Bancroft Library hosts changing public exhibits of its treasured collection of rare books, manuscripts, and pictorial materials. Also part of the Bancroft Library, the University Archives houses the official historical records of the University of California system, including those of the Berkeley campus.

The Bancroft Library went through extensive renovations and reopened in January 2009 (bancroft.berkeley.edu/info).

The Bernice Layne Brown Gallery, located just inside Doe Library’s north entrance, features regular exhibits that highlight library collections and programs with broad public appeal. For a listing of current exhibits in Berkeley libraries, visit the exhibits and events link on the library homepage at www.lib.berkeley.edu.

UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) is the center for the visual arts at Cal. One of the largest university museums in the country, both in size and attendance, BAM/PFA presents fifteen exhibitions and about 450 film screenings each year. The museum’s 1960’s Modernist building has eleven galleries and houses a collection that spans 3000 years of Eastern and Western art. Come visit—museum admission is always free for Cal students—and see something you’ve never seen before (bampfa.berkeley.edu; W-Su, 11am-5pm; 2626 Bancroft Way; 510/642-0808, recording or 510/642-8734, TDD).

Hearst Museum of Anthropology exhibits art, artifacts, and archaeological samples from people all over the world (hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu; open W-Sa, 10am-4:30pm, Su, 12pm-4pm; 103 Kroeber Hall; 510/642-3682).

Lawrence Hall of Science features interactive science games and exhibits, special events, a planetarium, and the best view in the Bay Area. Admission is free to students with their Cal 1 Card (lhs.berkeley.edu; open daily 10am-5pm; accessible by Campus Shuttle and AC Transit buses, Centennial Drive; 510/642-5132).

The Museum of Paleontology has fossils ranging from foraminiferan to plesiosaurus. Be aware that the collections are only open to the public for one day a year (during Cal Day, in late April). However, feel free to check out the full-sized T-Rex and other fossils on display in the VLSB foyer (www.ucmp.berkeley.edu; 1101 Valley Life Sciences Building; 510/642-1821).

The Worth Ryder Art Gallery showcases student and faculty work in changing displays (art.berkeley.edu/rev2/wrGallery/index.html; open Tu-F, 12pm-4pm; 116 Kroeber Hall; 510/642-2582).