I-SPY Fossils and Rocks: Spy it! Score it! is out Today
Rockwatch is delighted that the I-SPY Fossils and Rocks: Spy it! Score it! is published today. The Guide, published by Harper Collins, has been written with the help of Rockwatch’s Michael Oates and Wendy Kirk, both experienced Geologists who know just how to inspire young geologists. Commenting on the Guide Michael said, “The world is made up of an abundance of natural wonders so it was a real challenge pulling together so many...
Rockstars 2023 Competition Details Coming Soon
We’ll soon be asking for Rockstar 2023 competition entries! Printed entry forms – with details of the great prizes on offer – will be sent out very shortly, along with the new issue 93, of Rockwatch magazine. Keep an eye out for both. The Rockstar entry form will also be downloadable from the website in the near...
Festival of Geology 2023 – Save the Date!
Exciting news! This year’s Festival of Geology is taking place on Saturday 4 November 2023 and is returning to London. The Festival, organised by the Geologists’ Association, takes place annually in November and is an opportunity to celebrate and immerse yourself into all things geology with other geology fans of all ages. Further details will be announced as the programme is confirmed but in the meantime please save the...
Pre-order your copy of the i-SPY Fossils and Rocks Guide
A super new addition to the popular Collins Michelin i-SPY Guide series has been produced especially for fossil and rock lovers – great for Rockwatchers – and the perfect time to announce its forthcoming publication on World Book Day. Aimed at children from 5 years and up, the i-SPY Fossils and Rocks booklet is available to pre-order now! It’s publication date is just around the corner on 16th March so you...
A Bit about Clare Byrne and Exciting Rockwatch Events Coming Up
A Bit About Me I was delighted when Susan Brown invited me to replace her as Chair of Rockwatch in November last year. I’m not a Geologist by training, having studied physics at UCL which led onto two careers in physics – firstly working for various companies in research and development until the birth of my two children – and then later as a science teacher. I officially retired last year but, the shortage of physics teachers...
Rockwatch Field Trips – Save the Dates!
We’re delighted to announce two Rockwatch field trips will be taking place later this year and although the details are still being finalised we wanted to announce the dates now so you can save them in your diaries. The first will be on Tuesday 1 August 2023 in Swanage in Dorset and the second will be at Bracklesham Bay in West Sussex on Saturday 30 September 2023. Bookings will be open soon!...
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre Fossils Walks
The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre run regular fossil walks. Be sure to check their website for events taking place over February half term....
Harrow & Hillingdon Rock Show 2023 Launches today
The Harrow and Hillingdon Rock Show has launched today! There are plenty of fun activities planned from 6-23 February at Uxbridge Library. There are some fantastic resources online too for those who’d like to visit virtually. ...
Issue 92 of the Rockwatch Magazine: published December 2022
Issue 92 Contents List: published December 2022 Figure 4 New Forest fossils Image 1 of 7 FINDING SEA FOSSILS IN A FOREST ROCKSTAR SPECIAL Some of the many entries PINBALL WAIZARDRY EXPLAINS THE ROCK CYCLE A fun game with geology built in MONOLITHS AND MEGALITHS The marvel of standing stones FINDING SEA FOSSILS IN A FOREST The story behind some strange finds A WALL THAT HARBOURS OPEN SECRETS Spotting surprises in a restored wall...
Farewell Susan And Welcome Clare
As 2022 draws to a close, it is with mixed emotions that we announce that much-loved and long-serving Chair, Susan Brown, is stepping down at the end of this year, and our new Chair, Clare Byrne steps up from January of next year. Susan is well known to many current and former Rockwatchers and has inspired an entire generation of children, young people and families to the joys of geology. For avid field trippers, Susan has been the...
Happy National Fossil Day!
Happy National Fossil Day! Here’s a recent fossil sent in by Rockwatcher, Ronnie for identification which is likely to be a part of a bivalve shell, Trigonia costata, named by chemist and palaeontologist James Parkinson whose name lives on in Parkinson’s disease. It is a species that appeared first in the Toarcian Stage (end of the Early Jurassic), but persisted into the Middle Jurassic – which is probably the age of...
Join the GA’s October Lecture Online
Older Rockwatchers may be interested in joining The Geologists’ Association October lecture which takes place online via Zoom on Friday October 7 at 18.00pm. This month’s topic will be on The Rise and Fall of the last British Ice-Sheet by Professor Chris Clark, Chair of Geoscience at the University of Sheffield. This lecture is via Zoom and is expected to last until around 9.30pm. The Zoom link will be emailed to you...
Rockstars Competition Entries are in!
There are an exciting two days ahead of judging this year’s Rockstars Young Geologists’ Competition entries. With the deadline now passed, we’re looking forward to being amazed by what our young geologists love about geodiversity. Judges will be meeting at Rockwatch HQ at Burlington House in London today and tomorrow to decide on this year’s winners. We’ll be announcing winners very soon and then...
Book the next Rockwatch Field Trip to West Sussex on 10 September 2022
We have another double whammy for you! Join us on the next Rockwatch field trip to West Sussex for a spot of Building Stones Geodetective work at Earnley Church, followed by a fossil hunt on Bracklesham beach. The field trip is from 1.30pm til 5.30pm on Saturday 10 September. The trip with be led by Rockwatch Ambassador David Bone. Check out the details and complete the booking form today! Book...
Rockwatch to Join in International Geodiversity Day Celebrations
Rockwatch is delighted to announce that it will be joining in with this year’s International Geodiversity Day on Thursday 6th October 2022. Geodiversity Day, which was announced at the UNESCO at the 41st General Conference in 2021, will be a worldwide celebration to promote all the many aspects of geodiversity and will take the place of this year’s GA Festival of Geology which usually runs in November every year. The Day...
Issue 91 of the Rockwatch Magazine: published August 2022
Issue 91 Contents List: published August 2022 Pulhamite Image 1 of 6 THIS ROCK IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS THIS ‘ROCK’ IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS Strange find in a country park THE GREAT GREYWACKE DEBATE Spotlight on a historic discovery OBSERVING OBELISKS Spectacular stone monuments FLINT What is it? FLINT How was it formed? TAKING A SHINE TO PLATINUM Facts about this ‘difficult’ metal FACETIME SHOCK IN A ROCK Lump of bog...
Beat the Summer Holiday Boredom and Become and Rockstar!
If you’re looking for ways to ease the holiday boredom then our summer competition might cheer you up, and you could end up being a Rockstar! Every year, Rockwatchers from around the UK enjoy putting together geology projects on topics that inspire them, and submit them to our Rockstar Young Geologists’ Competition. Children and young people from ages 4-18 take part, whether they’re newbies discovering geology for...
Come Fossil Hunting at Kings Dyke Nature Reserve, Peterborough
Join us for the next Rockwatch field trip on Saturday 2 July 2022 to Kings Dyke Nature Reserve near Peterborough. The area is historically famous for brick making thanks to the abundant clay pits but it is also extremely rich in Jurassic-age fossils. Many of the original pits have been made into nature reserves and it’s one of these we’ll be visiting. With the help of Rockwatch Guides, Rockwatchers are very likely to find...
Enjoy the Summer Science Exhibition 2022
The Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition 2022 which takes place from 6-10 July will appeal to many Rockwatchers, whether you are able to visit in person or online. There will be a mix of fascinating talks and hands-on interactive sessions on a wide range of science topics. including how scientists are using everyday items from waste to replace oil and discover more about the first meteorite fall in the UK for 30 years....
Join us in Whitby this weekend for our next Field Trip
Join us on the next Rockwatch field trip this weekend as we explore North East England’s Jurassic Dinosaur Coast in Whitby on Saturday 18th June. We’ll be looking at depositional environments and fossil indicators and hope to find lots of fossils to add to your collections. The fieldtrip is being led by local geology experts Mick Oates and Paul Hildreth. And if you like, you can bring fossils you’ve already found for...
Visit Mary Anning Exhibition
Rockwatchers may be interested to visit the new exhibition about fossil pioneer Mary Anning at the Lyme Regis Museum this summer. As well as visiting the newly unveiled Mary Anning statue on the sea front, visitors to the museum will be able to see a rare portrait of the paleontologist with her dog, Tray, on the beach at Lyme alongside one of her rare ichthyosaurs she discovered in 1832. Both of these special items are on loan to the...
Next Rockwatch Field Trip – Hunt for Pebbles at Thorndon Country Park
Did you know that every pebble tells a story? Do you want to know how to identify 80 million year old pebbles? Would you like to know how pebbles tell us about past global climate changes? Join us and other Rockwatchers on our next field trip to find out! We’ll spend the afternoon of Saturday 11 June from 2pm in the beautiful Essex countryside at Thorndon Country Park learning all about pebbles. It’s a vast and...
Rockstar Young Geologists’ Competition 2022 Details Announced
It’s that time of year again when we announce details of our annual geologists’ competition called Rockstars! Once a year we challenge young people to express their creativity and knowledge of geology, using their choice of media. Anyone under the age of 18 can enter and you have all summer to put your masterpieces together! You can find out more about the competition including key dates and top tips on what and how to...
Anne Bronte Was a Rock Collector
Rockwatchers may be interested to know that new research shows that Anne Bronte – the youngest of the famous Bronte sisters who wrote Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – was also a keen geologist. The research has been done by PhD Student Sally Jaspers at the University of Aberdeen and with the help of Goescientist Stephen Bowden, they have discovered that Anne was very skilled and knowledgeable about her rock...