Dinosaur Babies at the National Museum Cardiff – till 5th November
Find out all about dinosaur family life! The National Museum of Wales is hosting the world’s most amazing finds of dinosaur eggs and embryos. It includes dinosaur skeletons and replicas, touchable models and details about how they looked after their babies. You can also learn to identify the different dinosaur eggs. The exhibition is on till November 5th and charges apply. For details...
Join us at the Festival of Geology on November 4th!
Come along to the Festival of Geology at University College London on November 4th for a day of activities, displays, talks and geological fun. There are lots of children’s activities including fossil microscopic workshops! The day runs from 10.30 till 4.30 and entrance is free! And there are things going on to interest every age. Displays by geological groups from all over the country, a photographic competition and talks by...
GeoLab: Sussex Rocks – Saturday 14 October
Calling all over 16s! The Brighton and Hove Geological Society invites all older Rockwatchers/student/adults to a day long exploration of rocks, minerals and fossils. Aimed at the absolute beginner, Sussex Rocks! is part of the UK Earth Science Week 2017. Meet local experts and get hands-on with specimens from the collection of the Booth Museum of Natural History. By the end of the day you will be a geologist – almost! Cost: ...
Sidmouth Science Festival – Sat 14 October 2017
Geo fun for all the family at the Sidmouth Science Festival. Predict the eruption of Sidmouth volcano, make your own fossils, hands-on activities, geo talks through out the day and lots of fascinating local geology. 11.00 till 5.00 in the Masonic Hall, High Street, Sidmouth EX10 8EF Free event. No need to book. Great day out for all ages. Just go along and have fun!
Plate Tectonics and the Ocean Floor – More reading for you!
For plate tectonics and the ocean floor, there’s lots of fascinating detail online. Try some of these start words; oceanic crust, oceanic trench, lithosphere, Moho, Glomar Challenger, joidesresolution, black smokers, Alfred Wegener, magnetic stripes. These sites will lead you onto lots of other locations – happy exploring. Also online, Metageologist provides lots of reading about metamorphic rocks and connected topics. If...
Last Chance to see the Chinese Dinosaurs!
Exhibition finishes this weekend! Go along to see this marvellous display if you can. Rockwatch had a wonderful day at Wollaton Hall with Adam Stuart Smith showing Rockwatchers round the Chinese Dinosaur Exhibition he’d brought over from China. Stunning fossils but the first surprise was that the location for the exhibition was where Clark Kent had lived in the Batman...
Arran Geofest 2017!
The Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland, is a great place for geology. Walk in the footsteps of Triassic reptiles or marvel at the giant shells that lived at the Equator 300 million years ago. And you can celebrate Arran’s spectacular geology at their Geofest. Friday 15 – Sunday 17 September Three days of walks and talks in what promises to be an amazing weekend. All events are free but there are limited...
Great fieldtrip to South Wales
Wonderful weekend fieldtrip to South Wales – and the sun shone! Meilyr found a great dinosaur footprint! A hand is a useful scale. Make sure you don’t miss out on future adventures – the new Rockwatch Events Leaflet is being worked on at the moment and will be landing on your door mat in about 10 days time. Make sure you book quickly so that you don’t miss out on a trip you might like to go on!...
Fabulous Fieldtrip to Lincolnshire
Rockwatchers with their finds! Rockwatchers had a great day out with geologists Paul Hildreth and Mick Oates. They found chunks of satin spar – a type of gypsum which was one of the typical signs of the desert deposits investigated. See if you can come next time! Just keep an eye on the Events Leaflet to make sure you don’t miss any of the upcoming fieldtrips!
Vital for fossil hunters! New NHM Fossil Explorer app.
The Natural History Museum has just released a new version of their Fossil Explorer app. So, now that the sunny weather is here, it’s time to go on a fossil hunt. Then you can get on the app and see what you’ve found. It’s a field guide to common fossils in Britain. And when you’ve discovered what it is you’ve found don’t forget to let us at Rockwatch know. Just go to the NHM website to download...
Join Rockwatch at BGS on Saturday July 1
Come along to the British Geological Survey in Keyworth for their Family Day. Rockwatch will be there with fun activities – learn all about geology while having a good time! The British Geological Survey’s Environmental Science Centre will have activites that show the wide scope and applications of their research. You’ll even be able to see how they take core samples, essential for producing geological maps. There...
Don’t miss the Rockwatch Fieldtrip to Bracklesham on July 22
Rockwatchers had such a great day fossil collecting in Bracklesham a few weks ago. Wonderful fossils were found as you can see! And now you can have another opportunity to go there on July 22nd. Hopefully you’ll need to bring sun screen! A great day out for the family!
Fun amongst the rocks in Lincolnshire on Sunday 4 June
Be a geo-detective for the day! Join Rockwatch on a fieldtrip to the ‘Isle of Axholme’ in North Lincolnshire where local expert, Paul Hildreth, will be on hand to help with your ‘detective’work! He’ll help you find clues, collect evidence and then ‘solve the mystery’ of what exactly you’re finding beneath your feet. Two sites to visit – a quarry and a railway cutting. We’ll...
Fossil collecting Fieldtrip to Epworth, North Lincolnshire – Sunday 4 June 2017
A great opportunity to add to your fossil collection! A trip to a quarry and a railway cutting with plenty of fossils to find! Local expert, Paul Hildreth, will be helping you to turn your hand to geological detective work – looking for clues, finding evidence then putting it all together to solve the geological mystery. Great day for families but over 7s only.
Fossil collecting fieldtrip at Bracklesham, West Sussex – Saturday 22nd July, 2017
Another great fossil hunting fieldtrip along the shore in Bracklesham, West Sussex. Bracklesham is a great place to hunt for fossil shells and sharks’ teeth which are 45 million years old. Experts will be on hand to help you ‘get your eye in’. You should be able to boost your collections with lots of Eocene age fossils! The picture is of our last fieldtrip to Bracklesham with a Rockwatcher holding a perfect...
Shropshire Fossil Collecting Fieldtrip on Sunday 7th May
A fabulous day with lots of fossils to collect! You’ll get to put on a hard hat and hi-vis vest and discover Silurian fossils with Eddie Bailey and Susan Brown. It will be Rockwatch’s fifth visit to this favourite spot where you’ll be able to see rocks of the Silurian Period in the Much Wenlock Limestone Formation. The benches and tips in the quarry contain typical reel fossils including trilobites. Lots to find...
New Rockwatch Magazine!
A new Rockwatch magazine has just come out! It’s full of wonderfully interesting articles as well as one by the winning Rockwriter from last year’s Rockstar competition. Laura Cooper article is called ‘Birth and Death on Earth’ and in it she explains why, for her, fossils can bring Deep Time to life. A fascinating read! And with the magazine you’ll find the entry form for ‘Rockstar 2017’. ...
‘Behind the Scenes’ at the Oxford Museum of Natural History
Fascinating ‘Behind the Scenes’ visit. Briefed in the main hall then off to explore the areas the public don’t usually get to see. Rockwatchers spoke to real palaeontologists and found out what work they do. Inspiring!
Volcanoes – New Exhibition at the Bodleian Library, Oxford
From fire-belching mountains to blood-red waves of lava, volcanoes have captured the attention of scientists, artists and members of the public for centuries. This exhibition in the Weston Library at the Bodleian has eye witness accounts, scientific observations and artwork charting how understanding of volcanoes has changed over the millennia. Some of the most spectacular volcanic activity is in the exhibition: the 79AD eruption of...
‘Diamonds and Chocolate’ GA talk Friday 3 March
‘Diamonds and Chocolate: New Volcanic Process Discovered’. A talk by Dr Thomas Gernon of Southampton University. Scientists at the university have discovered a previously unrecognised volcanic process, similar to one that is used in chocolate manufacturing, which gives important new insights into the dynamics of volcanic eruptions. Find out all about it! This talk has been organized by the Geologists’ Association and is aimed at...
Warwickshire Museum reopens with geology galore!
Warwickshire Museum has finally completed a renovation of its Market Hall Museum and has now re-opened. It is celebrating by displaying Warwickshire’s geological riches with rock and fossil specimens, artwork and models. One of the models on display is an Ichthyosaur made of Lego consisting of nearly 4,000 bricks. And we are pleased to say that part of the money to make this model came from the Geologists’ Association...
Call to Students!
Older Rockwatcher may well be interested in a Student Conference being held by the Geologists’ Association (GASS) at Burlington House in Piccadilly, London on Friday 19 May. It’s an all day event aimed at undergraduates with talks and posters. It’s a chance for the public, industry and academia to meet the next generation of geoscientists! The keynote speaker for the day is Professor Iain Stewart, Director of...
Dorset Residential Fieldtrip – Sunday 30 July to Thursday 3 August 2017
Rockwatch will again be exploring the amazing Jurassic World Heritage Coast of Dorset and East Devon. This will be its 15th Residential trip there and it never ceases to be the most exciting event with new finds and places to explore every time. This year there is a slight change in the timings and the trip now runs from Sunday to Thursday. We will again be staying at Leeson House Field Studies Centre which has excellent facilities. ...