The Bone Room

This place is super unique! Easy to find gifts and items of interest to decorate with. Definitely worth a visit for naturalists of all ages.

What a cool place!
This quaint little store on Solano Ave is surrounded by a plethora of other great business and restaurants. Even if you’re not in the area for this shop specifically I would suggest stopping by to check it out.
Everything from replicas to authentic human bones can be found here. Considering the small size of the shop I must have been in there for at least an hour.
The staff was more than friendly and offered assistance and guidance without the feel of pushing a sale on someone.
There were plenty of patrons in the shop, whether they were there to purchase or just take a glance at this amazing little shop is beyond my knowledge.
If you have a friend or family member into skeletons or skulls you can surely find some great gifts here.

Bones can be creepy and morbid. This place is neither! Wonderful staff that is knowledgeable and friendly and great specimens. Any budget can shop here. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to browse because they have lots of drawers full of wonders.

Terri is awesome and has a excelente customer service and a beautiful personality for this job Excellent customer service is hard to come by nowadays in 2015 and i just showing my appreciation and love Happy Holidays Terri and I hope you are getting recognized for you excellent customer service

ABSOLUTE BEST PLACE from the location to the atmosphere to the customer service/​employees to the oddities they have to the awesome range of prices!!!
As soon as my friend Dom and I walked in we were promptly greeted by Han (who is a complete sweetheart!!!)! Dom and I had never been there before so we were very eager to take a look around. Both employees Han and Raina exemplify what customer service should be!!! They let us know they were there to help us if we had any questions or wanted to see anything specific.
As we started looking around they quietly worked and, as Dom and I had so many questions and were the only ones in the store, they chimed in informative and friendly conversation which made our experience all around the best experience we’ve had!
Both Raina and Han kept busy with their work as they spoke to us as well which very obviously shows great employees who love what they do. When Dom and I started choosing things we liked, Raina was more than helpful to pull them out for us, give us information on the items as well as how they prepare the item for display and all that good stuff. She also suggested great display boxes/​options for each item that we chose, without being a pushy sales person! Raina is incredibly friendly and smart! She mounted a lot of things for us and made sure everything looked perfect and we were happy before we walked out.
Dom and I also ended up paying for a few purchased, leaving to get lunch, and coming back to finish up the rest of my purchase which had to dry before I could take it home (glue), and Dom had a few more decisions to make for a gift.
In the end, I ended up purchasing a large raccoon baculum bone, a beautiful moth which Raina mounted for me in a wooden display box with an acrylic lid, a sheep’s heart in a jar, and a human vertebrae bone which Raina also mounted for me in a beautiful done case. Dom purchased two months which Raina mounted/​pinned into a beautiful black display box, two small butterflies which she also pinned onto a small wooden display, and a cat skeleton! The effort that Raina put into helping us out was absolutely incredible. Before mounting things she made sure it was in the correct position we wanted it, that it’d be secure, and it would be in a safe place to store it as we drove home. Amongst other things she made sure of! Her mounting our purchases and helping us find the perfect displays for them was AMAZING.
To conclude, Raina is and was the definite epitome of a great employee. Informative, sweet, obviously hard working, and went above and WAY beyond for us as customers! (We spent maybe 2 hours in the store because we were so thrilled with everything). I can’t find one thing wrong with our experience with her even if I tried!!! Han was so sweet and informative as well! So welcoming and eager to show us around.
I can guarantee if you can’t make a crazy large purchase, you will DEFINITELY walk out with something cool! Especially because, as I mentioned before, their great price range. They have awesome things as low as $ 1!!! Great location, environment, set up, selection, employees, prices, displays, absolutely everything. I as well as Dom will be returning customers, probably regulars. Everything was spectacular! Thank you Raina and Han for making our first time to The Bone Room beyond perfect!

One of my favorite stores in the Bay Area! I used to be an East Bay girl before I moved down to San Diego, and I will always remember this place. I am a biologist and have always loved to make my home like a little natural history museum. The store has changed quite a bit since I last visited in person, but the quality of service and products is the same as I remember (which is to say, consistently very good!).
The Bone Room has everything you can imagine, and more– fossils, real and replica bones, antlers/​horns, pinned insects, preserved spider webs, as well as some taxidermy, posters, books, old-​fashioned medical supplies, and insect-​collecting supplies. It’s also a wonderful place for gifts for a budding naturalist or an oddball friend.
My review is for their online store, since I have not been able to make the journey back to the Bay Area in several months but really wanted some specimens. Ordering was extremely fast and easy, and everything arrived on time and in perfect condition. I got some vertebrae, leg bones and teeth that look exactly as advertised on the website.
Overall excellent selection, prices and service. Proud to continue to support such a great store.

I think I just found my favourite store in the entire world :) The customer service here is amazing, and the store itself is like a museum. I can’t believe it’s not more crowded! I definitely have a few things I want to save up for (like those adorable ducklings in a dome) and the tiny silver plated skull necklaces and also a couple of the butterfly mounts :) I LOVE THE WHOLE STORE :) I just felt so at home, and the ladies working there were really helpful and patient with me and my fascination with EVERYTHING in the store (minus the spiders… I’m super arachnophobic). Everywhere I looked there was something amazing to see and find! They’re also now opened on Sundays! (Check my pictures for more details). I wish I lived closer so I could visit this store more frequently… But I think I found my favourite store for sure — great employees, great set up, and excellent selection of goodies!

This place is pretty awesome. They have so many cool bones, bugs, and other oddities. I bought a taxidermy chick there. It’s absolutely adorable. I even inquired about pig fetuses and they even have that!
I recommend this place to anyone who loves bones and odd things.

This store is so cool. It has unique items for sale and the staff is very knowledgeable. Its worth the stop.

The Bone Room is a treasure tucked in the most unassuming part of Berkeley you will every visit.
Planning a trip to Berkeley for some ink, we decided to make a day of it. It has been years since I have been to Berkeley, and I have never been to The Bone Room.
Having heard of it, it was the very first place we went on our way.
And it always will be from now on :)
It is organized and curated immaculately. You are able to pull out many of the stacked specimen drawers, pick up horns and bones, and gawk open-​mouthed as I did for as long as you can stand before losing your mind and giving them all of your money.
Horns, pelts, bones, bugs, bats, preserved things in jars, teeth. You name it. And no request is too strange.
I looked at the lovely girl behind the counter and asked nicely if they had any preserved car fetuses. The angel smiled at me and said no, but directed me to all the other feline pieces they hat at the time.
You want a Monarch butterfly? Got it.
Lion teeth? Check.
Car skulls? Yup.
Human femurs? Why, or course, silly buns!
I picked up a beautiful pair of Springbok caps for $ 40, a bone needle for $ 4, and THE MOST AWESOME TOTE for $ 15. (see photo)
The employees are some of the loveliest you’ll ever meet. Just so sweet. And they obviously love their job. I would pay to work at a place like this.
The interior is lovely. Packed full of stuff, but so lovingly organized.
Parking is all on the street.
Not really much else immediately around there EXCEPT FOR THEIR GALLERY NEXT DOOR!!! Before or after, Bone Room Presents cannot be missed.
I can’t wait to visit again. There are a couple things on my list I forgot to even check because I was so taken aback by the morbid perfection that is The Bone Room.
But don’t let this place scare you away, EXPLORE!!! Get curious and pop in. Ask questions. Pick things up. They are happy to help, and you will want to keep coming back
Prices were decent. They could easily charge sooooo much more for everything. Got a good amount for my money, and can’t wait to go back for a few more things. Hell, walk in with a $ 5 bill, and you can walk out with something
Kicking myself for not getting a taxidermy chick.
The morbid struggle is real

Awesome place full of «Marvelous Dead Things!» to quote my GF. Taxidermy, Fossils, and bones of all kinds! Plus old medical tools, diagrams, and other medical related stuff. Prices seem pretty darn reasonable.
Neighborhood parking is metered on the ‘strip’ and free on the side streets. Bike parking is up and down the street all over.
One of the highlights of our last trip to the East Bay, we can’t wait to go back!

I called The Bone Room looking for shells, and they said they had a nice collection of individual shells plus some bags of mixed shells. When I got there I was very disappointed to see that there were really hardly any shells at all, and they were all incredibly expensive. Honestly I would not call this a store for shells, although it may be great for bones. The three stars is for being told by the clerk I spoke to on the phone that they did have nice, affordable shells, and wasting our time. This could have been avoided if they instead just confessed that what they have is a tiny collection of nothing-​special shells for rip-​off prices.
We ended up going to ‘Jo-​ann Fabrics’ (with a craft section) in the El Cerrito Mall at the suggestion of a friend, and were delighted to find a fairly big selection of wonderful pretty shells for a fraction of the price at the bone shop. We got a huge bag for something like $ 10 and they were perfect for my grandchildren’s play in the backyard.

Coolest store in Berkeley, if not the world. I had to rent a skeleton for a talk my boss was doing on bone structure, and this was the only place in the bay area to offer skeletons for rental. Since the store was closed on Sun and Mon, and the talk was on Tues, we would have to rent it for 5 days even though we only needed it for two. I talked to the boss on the phone and she and the other nice ladies that worked there let me rent the skeleton for the cost of only two days!
I walked around the store while they were processing the order and they’ve got all kinds of bones skeletons and casts, including human, dinosaur, spiderweb art, all kinds of beautiful and unique stuff. You need a good hour to check out this mini-​museum. They let you handle the stuff too, so be careful but you will be insanely curious! DEFINITELY check this place out if you’re in the area.
Also there is a cute blonde girl with gauges that works there.

Visited here a little while back; ended up
Adding some great rare specimens to my collection and hanging out for a bit. Lots of excellent, unusual things for fair prices — unlike some other natural history stores.
Got to talk to the owner, Ron, for a good while about osteology and taxonomy, and was going to keep in touch, but I found out soon after that he’d passed away only a day or two after I had met him. He was a lovely guy, and I hope the store will live on as his legacy. RIP and much love to the other store staff, who were very nice and helpful too.

Sent here by the show oddities SF. Very interesting store. They have fossils, bones, feathers, pelts, taxidermy animals, jewelry, jars, teeth, and they have this small XXX box filled with ivory carved sex figurines. Haha. You have to be an adult to look inside! And I am so I got to see and blushed like a school girl. They also have some things that are casted.
Id say it takes about 30min-​1hr to take a good look at everything and look in the drawers. There’s a lot of cool things but i wouldn’t know what to do with them. I guess it’s good if you’re a collector but for the money… it’s really a bunch of junk. Think of this place as a museum. I would purchase the fur here because it’s so darn cheap!!! My bf got a fox tail for 12 $ and I got a beetle shell for 50 cents. It was to replace a broken one off my earrings I got.

All the death in here bums me out. And I know it’s sacrilegious to say anything bad about this place, but to be honest that sad, cramped live snake in the back and all the smelly dead things BUM ME OUT.

Definitely the coolest and most unique place out there. Tons and tons of gorgeous butterfly’s, beetles, and other little critters to purchase, along with their extensive selection of bones and various beautiful nicknacks.
I had not been here in close to 20 years (my mother took me as a child) and was pleasantly surprised at the selection of items that were reasonably priced (SEVERAL items are around 30 – 40 $!)
I’m sure my wife will love her butterfly for valentines day. :)

In search an eclectic gift to spice up that white elephant gift exchange? The Bone Room is Berkeley’s one-​stop shop for bones and dead animals.
Among the inanimate inventory is animal skulls and bones, full animal skeletons, fossils, stuffed animals (including stuffed ducklings amusingly scattered throughout the store, some wearing little Santa hats for winter!) and preserved animals and insects in everything from home décor to jewelry. Though most of the inventory is animal, they also have some human skulls and skull castings. They have beads, vintage doll parts, feathers and insect wings– perfect for creepy crafters. The front counter is full of jewelry, wearables and chotchkies.
While you’re there, check out the Bone Room’s gallery next door with prints, books, more skulls and antique medical ephemera. I dig ya, Bone Room!

It may be unwise to admit this in such a public forum, but the Bone Room is one of my very most favorite things. Or, rather, is filled with my very favorite things.
I wish I lived closer… I’d be here all the time to browse their collection of all manner of wonderful curiosities.
Prices are reasonable, and the staff are friendly and knowledgable.

I love coming to the Bone Room, whether it is to browse the store or check out a show in the gallery space next door. It is like a museum where you can (often) pick things up for a closer look! always learn something & get hands-​on science-​y. Just a few things you will find here: real bones, resin/​replica bones, shells, fossils, taxidermy, a live snake, doll parts, horns & antlers, jewelry & beads, rocks,
The owners & employees are obviously passionate & knowledgeable. They readily offer help & information. This place makes me feel like a kid again!