Joshua’s Sea Snail on the Sea Shore
Fossil finder Joshua found this wonderful shell on a recent trip to the Barton Beds at Barton on Sea, in the south of England and sent in his find for identification. It turns out that the Barton Beds – as they are known – are home to more than 600 species of shells! Fossil hunters flock to the Barton Beds because it’s known to be a rich source of Gastopods, molluscs and sharks’ teeth so visitors are likely to go home with a fossil...
Rockstars Competition Deadline is Tomorrow!
Remember it’s the Rockstars Competition 2021 deadline for sending in your entries by close of play tomorrow – the 8th September 2021. So, dot those ‘i’s’ and cross those ‘t’s’ – save and click send! We’re looking forward to receiving your hard work and enjoying reading and seeing what geology topics you’ve brought to life. We absolutely love receiving every single...
Could Ben have Discovered a New Carboniferous Crustacean Species?
On a recent family field trip to Berwick-Upon-Tweed in Northumberland, Rockwatcher Ben unearthed not one but two fossil finds from the same boulder. The first of these, probably a tooth, is fairly typical of the kind of fossil found on Northumberland’s beaches. With the geology of Berwick-Upon-Tweed being formed of Carboniferous rocks mostly comprised of sandstone and limestone, this area is known for brachiopods, crinoids, corals and...
Get your Rockstar 2021 Competition Entries in!
With more than a week left before the competition deadline, there’s still plenty of time for you to send us your geology inspired projects. Perhaps you’ve visited the Jurassic Coastline or one of the UK’s mountains ranges, or you’ve enjoyed a trip to a museum or visitor centre and found out about an area of interest. Maybe you’ve added some interesting rocks or fossils to your collection and have found out more about them. Whatever...
Freya’s Dinosaur Bone Discovery at Compton Bay
Famed for its huge dinosaur footprints at low tide, Compton Beach on the Isle of Wight is something of a fossil hunter’s pilgrimage seeing thousands of amateur and professional geologists every year. So, it’s perhaps not surprising that Rockwatcher Freya, who was holidaying with her family, found a dinosaur bone fossil on her recent visit given that the Isle of Wight – or Dinosaur Island as it’s become affectionately known – is home...
Thomas’s Lancashire Limestone Finds
Have you ever noticed that things in the natural world often adopt other names because they look like something else? For instance, the dramatic flame-filled Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan is also known as the ‘Doors to Hell’, because this huge gas-filled crater is constantly burning and looks like many through history have depicted the entrance to Hell. These alternative names can help us to understand more about physical...
Want to be a Rockstar 2021?
Looking for a fun activity to fill the holidays? Why not take part in this year’s Rockstars Competition – you might just become one of our Rockstars of 2021! If you’ve had the opportunity to visit the seaside or other parts of the countryside since you broke up from school you may well have been inspired by the geology around you. Or, perhaps you’ve lost yourself in a good book, a museum collection or film learning more about a...
Issue 88 of the Rockwatch Magazine: published August 2021
Issue 88 Contents List: published Aug 2021 CAPTURING GEOLOGY IN PHOTOS Image 1 of 7 HOW TO TAKE BETTER GEOLOGICAL PHOTOS CAPTURING GEOLOGY IN PHOTOS Tips on getting the best images FOSSILS IN HERALDRY Fossils embedded in public life VOLCANO TRAVELLER An adventure through the Americas JURASSIC DISCOVERIES Magic moments of fossil hunting ALL ABOUT GEODES What they are, what’s inside them ON TOR Geology of Dartmoor’s tors and...
Aria’s Litter Picking Leads to First Fossil Find and now she’s Hooked
Getting the fossil hunting bug can happen quite by chance as Aria discovered. Earlier this year, Aria was out being a litter picking hero in her local community of Haddenham in Buckinghamshire when she came across a fossil. Being curious about her first fossil find, Aria got in touch with Rockwatch to find out more about it and we’re thrilled that this led to her joining Rockwatch and exploring her newfound interest in geology...
A Dry Stone Waller’s Perk of the Job – Finding Fossils
Sometimes finding fossils can be a perk of the job. As a professional dry stone waller you work with different types of natural stone to shape them to fit together to create walls. It’s a very old tradition which dates back several millennia and it’s a profession that is on the rise again. By shaping rocks, the chances of finding fossils are pretty high, depending on where the rocks come from. Otis’s fossil was found this way by his...
Oliver’s Fossil Find
Oliver recently discovered a fossil whilst exploring the Lea Quarry on the Wenlock Edge in Shropshire, which is a popular Rockwatch fieldtrip location and sent this fabulous find in to ask for help in identifying it. We’d love to go back there again with Rockwatchers as soon as it is safe for us to do so! Already knowledgeable about the local geology of the area and keen to understand what he had found, Oliver explained,...
Please join the GA Zoom workshop on Geological Collections
Virtual Zoom Meeting Saturday June 19th 2021 from 7pm-9pm Please join the GA Zoom workshop on Geological Collections. Presented by Dr Caroline Buttler and a team from National Museum Wales in Cardiff. Collecting rocks and fossils often sparks an interest in geology, whether it is as a child or an adult, the questions raised about Deep-time and how things were in the past fascinate us. Geological collections are found in many of our...
Fabulous Finds is Launched!
Rockwatch is excited to launch Fabulous Finds! If you love fossil, rock or mineral hunting then you’re going to love our brand new fabulous finds section! Here you’ll find our fossil identification form where you can send us photos and details about what you’ve found, and we’ll write back with our thoughts on what you’ve unearthed. In this section you’ll also be able to dig deeper and find details...
Rockstar Young Geologists’ Competition 2021 details announced
We’re thrilled to announce details of the Rockwatch’s Rockstar Young Geologists’ Competition 2021! It’s a key highlight of the Rockwatch Calendar and we look forward to receiving your entries in this year’s competition. You don’t have to be a Rockwatch member to enter and we have different age categories and media types to choose from – there’s so much scope for you to get creative with...
The Royal Society’s Summer Science Programme dates announced
Save the dates! The Royal Society have announced that this year’s Annual Summer Science Programme is taking place from 8-11 July 2021. As part of this there will be special school events online on 8-9 July which you need to register for in advance. Sign up to receive an email so they can contact you when the full Programme is...
Look into the eye of a volcano
This stunning film of the dramatic eruption of an Icelandic volcano on 21st March will be sure to thrill our Rockwatch members. Reported in the Icelandic newspaper, Morgunblaðið’s at mbl.is, photographer and entrepreneur Björn Steinbekk shares this incredible footage which was filmed by drones. With this new technology, Steinbekk was able to see right into the eye of the eruption and over the eruption fissure. Many of our...
Issue 87 of the Rockwatch Magazine: published April 2021
Issue 87 Contents List: published April 2021 basalt-biscuits Image 1 of 7 Basalt Biscuits recipe MINERALS IN YOUR MOBILE What goes into your cellphone TOOTHY TALE OF A SPINOSAURUS Fossil inspiration for a good story SITE-SEEING IN PARYS An adventure near to home WOOD YOU BELIEVE THE GEOLOGY? Fossils in inner-city London CURLING STONES – STRAIGHT FACTS The special granites behind a sport TAKING ON THE POLYHALITE CHALLENGE Mining...
New Rock Show Online Launching Today
Rockwatchers may be interested to know that The Harrow and Hillingdon Geological Society’s Rock Show Online goes live today! The show features exhibits about the rock cycle, fossils and dinosaurs, fluorescent minerals, industry and the arts so there’s something for everyone whether it’s to support your GCSE science curriculum or you have a passion for geology. Check out the Rock Show...
The Bendricks Fossilised Dinosaur Footprints in South Wales
Bendricks dinosaur trackways Image 1 of 6 Bendricks dinosaur trackways Steve Howe shares his fascinating geological insights into The Bendricks, where Lily Wilder recently hit national news with her dinosaur footprint fossil find, as featured on the BBC website. The coast between Cardiff and Barry exposes a wonderful succession of 220-200 million year old Upper Triassic rocks. Around Penarth and Lavernock, just to the west of...
Issue 86 of the Rockwatch Magazine: published December 2020
Issue 86 Contents List: published December 2020 BEACH CLUES TO LOST WORLDS Image 1 of 7 BEACH CLUES TO LOST WORLDS BEACH CLUES TO LOST WORLDS Delving into Triassic/Jurassic times HOW AMMONITES CLOCK CLIMATE The special qualities of a widespread fossil FULGURITES: GLASS AT THE SPEED OF LIGHTNING How bolts from the blue create a mineraloid THE SONG OF THE ICE The science and sounds of Antarctica in music DEVON’S GRANITE TRAMWAY A...
A Tribute to the Late Dr Matthew Parkes
Dr Matthew Parkes, the geological curator for the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, died suddenly this October of a heart attack. Matthew was passionate about geology, and about sharing his knowledge with museum visitors especially the younger visitors. He encouraged budding geologists of all ages to learn how to understand and identify rocks and fossils. He’s been a staunch supporter of Rockwatch as an adult member for...
Adventures of a robot geologist on Mars – Imperial College Christmas Lecture
Rockwatchers may be interested in the Imperial College London’s Children’s Christmas Lecture which this year is being held online. The lecture will take place on Tuesday 8 December 2020 at 17.30 – 18.30. Join Professor Sanjeev Gupta on a journey to Mars, to search for evidence of ancient extraterrestrial life! Find out how geologists use robots to explore the Red Planet and work out what the Martian landscape looked...
Rockstar Competition Winners and Entries 2020
To coincide with this year’s Virtual Festival of Geology, Rockwatch is delighted to showcase a selection of this year’s Rockstars 2020 Competition Winners and Entries in this short movie. As in previous years, judges were really impressed with the very high standard of entries this year and enjoyed the broad range of imaginative, creative and comprehensive geology-related projects. Entrants wowed us with their...
Live Events Schedule for vFOG 2020
To help you plan your visit to the Virtual Festival of Geology – aka vFOG 2020 – here’s a handy summary of the Live Events taking place on Saturday 7 November. Rockwatch was in the Discovery Room all day for the interactive sessions with the Geobus Earthquake Challenge, and then at 2pm with the Chalking with Dinosaurs workshop, both of which you can watch on the festival website. There were lots of FREE public...