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...
Field Trips are Back!
BIG NEWS – Rockwatch field trips are back this summer! After what seems like a massive geologic period of time during the covid pandemic, we’re excited to be dusting off our hard hats and hi-vis jackets for a summer of geology field trips. The full events programme will be published in your next magazine that’s due out in April and also be added to the events section of the website, but we couldn’t wait to tell...
Michele’s Calcite Crystals from Lulworth Cove
This week’s fabulous find was discovered by young geology enthusiast Michele from iconic Lulworth Cove in Dorset on the Jurassic Coastline. Sending in details about her specimen for further investigation, Michele wondered if her rock might be fossilised wood, grass or plant matter. Rockwatch Ambassador Michael explains that clues to its form lie in its fibrous appearance as well as its location. Resembling the fibrous texture of beef,...
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...
Live preparation of a probable new species of Ichthyosaur
Dr Steve Etches, a familiar figure for Rockwatchers visiting Dorset or attending our residential fieldtrip, will be preparing a rare Ichthyosaur in his glass walled workshop at his museum. Visitors will be able to go along and watch him working on the fossil and also watch him from above via the live feed on a large television screen. It’s a rare chance to witness live the painstaking preparation of...