Russell Society Junior Members Magazine – Free Download for Rockwatchers!
We’re delighted to share a great new resource for our young mineral enthusiasts! The Russell Society has released the first two editions of its Junior Members Magazine, and both are now available as free PDF downloads. Rockwatch members with an interest in minerals may find these magazines especially enjoyable and inspiring. Designed to encourage the appreciation of minerals among young people, the Junior Members Magazine includes...
Exploring Earth’s Atmosphere with Dr Amy Gentry and GeoBus
fog-2025-geobus-3 Image 1 of 3 Dr Amy Gentry leading the GeoBus Workshop at the Festival of Geology 2025 At this year’s Festival of Geology, young Rockwatchers got hands-on with one of the event’s most popular workshops: The Tumbling Tower of Time, led by Dr Amy Gentry, Outreach Leader for the UCL GeoBus team. Designed to test balance, logic, and geological knowledge, the activity taught children how Earth’s atmosphere has evolved...
Festival of Geology Speaker Highlights — Exclusive Q&A Series
rockwatch-room Image 1 of 7 Rockwatch Room at the Festival Fresh off the back of last Saturday’s Festival of Geology, we’re still buzzing from a day packed with discovery, fossils, hands-on fun, and brilliant people who make geology come alive! If you joined us at the Festival, you’ll know how inspiring our talks and workshops were — from fossil-hunting detectives to mammoth discoveries! And if you missed it this year, don’t worry —...
Discover the Cross-Channel Geopark Festival at Dover Castle – 8th November
On Friday 8th November, the Cross-Channel Geopark is hosting a landmark day festival at the magnificent Dover Castle! Step into a landscape shaped over 400 million years and uncover the hidden geological links between Kent and northern France. The castle itself sits on chalk cliffs of immense geological and cultural importance, forming part of the story that defines Kent’s coastline. Visitors can enjoy:🦴 Hands-on fossil...
Meet Our 2025 Rockstars!
Rockwatch Chair, Clare Byrne gives us her take on this year’s Rockstar Winners. Every year, the Rockstars Young Geologists’ Competition fills us with excitement, curiosity, and a renewed sense of wonder about the world we live in. This year’s entries were truly extraordinary — full of imagination, hard work, and genuine fascination for geology and Earth sciences. The judges admired every single project, whether it was a creative...
Celebrating the 2025 Rockstars Young Geologists’ Competition Winners!
clare-and-langan Image 1 of 3 Clare Byrne, Chair of Rockwatch with Guest Speaker Langan Turner Today, Monday 26th October, marked a thrilling moment as we celebrated the winners of the 2025 Rockstars Young Geologists’ Competition at the Prize Giving Ceremony hosted by the Anglo American Foundation in London. This annual event shines a spotlight on the imagination, curiosity, and scientific spirit of young people across the UK. From...
Join Rockwatch at the 2025 Festival of Geology
FOG-2025-1 Image 1 of 5 The 2025 Festival of Geology has talks from Dr Dean Lomax, Bob Nicholls, Saskia Elliott and Frankie Dunn. Get ready to discover and explore because Rockwatch is heading to the Festival of Geology on Saturday 1st November 2025 at The Geological Society, Burlington House, London — and we want YOU to come along! This is a FREE family-friendly day packed full of activities, talks, workshops and hands-on science...
How can we listen to the whispers of rocks?
Khatwa-Anjana-c-Rob-Coombe Image 1 of 3 Dr Anjana Khatwa, Earth Scientist and author. (c) Rob Coombe. I have a superpower that most people can’t see. Maybe you have it too? I can walk through the world and travel back in time whenever I want. I can enter worlds that no longer exist to feel an ancient wind that once moved a sand grain or gain a sense of how a river once flowed across the land. To do this I only need to do one thing –...
Fun activities to do on International Geodiversity Day!
To help you celebrate International Geodiversity Day we’ve put together some fun activities for all young rock detectives to enjoy! Every year on 6th October, people all over the world celebrate the incredible geodiversity that shapes our planet — the rocks, fossils, minerals, soils, and landscapes that tell the story of Earth’s past and present. This is important because these stories help us to understand Earth’s...
Celebrate International Geodiversity Day with Rockwatch
International Geodiversity Day is almost here, and Rockwatch is ready to celebrate in style! This global celebration takes place every year on 6 October, shining a spotlight on the many ways geodiversity – the rocks, fossils, minerals, soils, and landscapes around us – shapes our planet and our lives. This year, we’re bringing you something extra special. We’ve teamed up with award-winning Earth Scientist, author, and TV presenter Dr...
Happy International Geodiversity Day!
Every year on 6th October, people all over the world celebrate International Geodiversity Day (IGD). It’s a special day to remind us that the Earth has amazing stories to tell – and this year’s theme is: One Earth, Many Stories Rockwatch is super excited to join in with this year’s celebrations together with Dr Anjana Khatwa, an award-winning earth scientist who has just published an incredible book all about the stories hidden...
Join Rockwatch at the Festival of Geology 2025!
It’s back! Rockwatch is thrilled to be part of the Geologists’ Association Festival of Geology 2025 – a whole weekend of free fun for children, families and anyone curious about our amazing planet. 📅 When: Saturday 1st – Sunday 2nd November 2025 📍 Where: The Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London On Saturday 1st November, families can explore the festival hub at Burlington House. There will be...
Rockwatch Families Enjoy a Fantastic Fossil & Minerals Day in Derbyshire
steeple-grange-light-railway-cab1 Image 1 of 9 Steeple Grange Light Railway carriage with Rockwatchers What a fabulous time we had on our Rockwatch field trip to Derbyshire! Families joined us for a full day of geological adventures at the National Stone Centre, Steeplehouse Quarry, Cromford Moor Mine site, and beyond. From exploring the Geotrail and spotting ancient fossils to riding the Steeple Grange Light Railway, discovering...
Still Time to Enter the 2025 Rockwatch Young Geologists’ Competition!
Have you been out and about this summer, discovering rocks, fossils, landscapes or museums filled with geological treasures? Maybe you’ve joined us on one of our Rockwatch field trips, explored a coastline, or found out something fascinating about the Earth and its land forms and processes? Good news – there’s still time to share your geological adventures by entering the 2025 Rockwatch Young Geologists’ Competition, sponsored by the...
Leeson House 2025 – Exploring Dorset’s Geological Delights
This year’s annual Rockwatch residential trip to Dorset was another action-packed adventure! Rockwatchers spent five days based at our home for the week – the Leeson House Field Studies Centre, exploring some of Dorset’s most spectacular geological sites and making plenty of memories along the way. Day 1 – Settling In Rockwatchers arrived at Leeson House in the afternoon, filled with anticipation about the week ahead. The first...
Join Rockwatch at Ware Museum for a Rock and Fossil Day
Date: Tuesday 12 August 2025 Time: 11.00am – 3.30pm Cost: £2 per child (drop-in) Join Rockwatch with friends from Ware Museum for a day of exciting hands-on activities discovering the amazing world of rocks and fossils. Activities include: Race a trilobite – see if you can beat these prehistoric creatures! Paint a plaster fossil – take home your own creation. Handle real specimens – get up close with rocks and fossils from millions of...
Digging into Mary Anning’s Legacy: Rockwatch Heads Back to Somerset!
Digging into Mary Anning’s Legacy: Rockwatch Heads Back to Somerset! We’re thrilled to be heading back to one of Rockwatch’s most popular destinations — the Somerset Earth Science Centre — for a very special summer holiday trip focused on one of the most iconic figures in palaeontology: Mary Anning. Taking place on Tuesday, 19th August, this unique event will give Rockwatchers the chance to discover more about Mary’s life and...
Thank You for Joining Us in Staithes!
[Show thumbnails] A huge thank you to all the brilliant Rockwatchers who joined us for our recent field trip to Staithes, North Yorkshire! It was a fantastic day filled with fossil hunting, coastal exploring, and geological discovery. Special thanks must go to Professor Kevin G. Taylor, who led the trip and shared his incredible knowledge of the Staithes Sandstone Formation and surrounding Jurassic geology. We learned so much about...
Dig Into Derbyshire’s Deep Past with Rockwatch!
[Show thumbnails] Rockwatch invites young geologists and their families to a truly unique experience on Thursday 21st August 2025 — a Fossils and Minerals Day at the National Stone Centre in Derbyshire! This educational and fun-packed event is perfect for curious minds eager to explore the story of Derbyshire’s rocks, fossils, and industrial heritage. We’ll begin with a guided walk along the Geotrail, where you’ll see...
Rockwatch Magazine Hits 100 Issues!
[Show slideshow] Celebrating Our Centenary Edition Packed Full of Geology Fun We’re excited to announce a major milestone in Rockwatch history — the publication of the 100th issue of Rockwatch Magazine! That’s right, our special Summer Holiday issue marks a century of Rockwatch bringing geology to life for young enthusiasts across the UK. Published three times a year, Rockwatch Magazine is your go-to for incredible stories from the...
100 Issues and Counting: A Q&A with the Editors of Rockwatch Magazine
The Magazine Over the Years When was the first issue of the Rockwatch magazine published, and what was in it? Peter: The first issue was published in Spring 1992, over 33 years ago!!! That issue had an amazing article on the dawn of the dinosaurs written by world-famous vertebrate palaeontologist Mike Benton. There was also an interview with the legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, who collected fossils as a boy, pictured...
Issue 100 of the Rockwatch Magazine: published July 2025
Issue 100 Contents List: published July 2025 Rockwatch members receive a copy of the Rockwatch Magazine three times a year to coincide with the main school holidays – Christmas, Easter and Summer. To receive your copy of the magazine join today! P14-trilobite-notebook-record Image 1 of 8 TRILOBITE DREAM COMES TRUE A teenage fossil hunt adventure Inside this issue… IN THE LONG RUN, GEOLOGY ALWAYS WINS A tale of two...
Celebrating Our 2024 Rockstar Young Geologists – And Announcing This Year’s Competition!
[Show thumbnails] As we gear up for the 2025 Rockstar Young Geologists’ Competition, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the incredible talent, creativity, and curiosity showcased by last year’s brilliant young geologists. The 2024 competition saw entries from across the country, with participants delving deep into the world beneath our feet – from ancient fossils to fault lines and lava lakes. Our 2024 Rockstar of the Year: Tom’s...
Join the Team as Rockwatch Field Trip Manager
Are you passionate about geology and keen to inspire the next generation of rock stars? Rockwatch, the junior branch of the Geologists’ Association, is on the lookout for a Field Trip Manager to help organise and deliver our exciting calendar of geological adventures across the UK. Thanks to the growing success of Rockwatch and increasing demand for field trips, this volunteer role offers a unique opportunity to be part of something...