The Perm Regional Museum (Permsky Kraevedchesky Muzey) is the main historical and natural history museum of the region. It covers the natural environment of the Perm Krai from the geological period that bears the city's name to the present, with extensive exhibits on the region's animal life, pre-Slavic peoples, early Russian settlement, and industrial development. The Permian period exhibits — the geological era named after the city, roughly 299 to 252 million years ago — are genuinely interesting if you have any interest in deep history.
The museum is located in the Meshkov House on the Kama River embankment, a short walk from the city centre. A second building houses temporary exhibitions. The collection is large and the labelling is primarily in Russian, but enough is self-explanatory (fossils, maps, period rooms) that non-Russian speakers can spend a productive hour or two here.