Emma Bernard from the Natural History Museum visits Lyme Regis to talk about Mary Anning and the riches of the local coastline. With thanks to the BBC for reproduction permission.
Get hands-on with some amazing fossils and discover how their unique features adapted them to different environments and lifestyles. Design your own prehistoric creepy-crawly – decide how to best arm your creature with body parts and special powers – then spin our ‘wheel of misfortune’ to see what life throws at it! Is your animal […]
Tales from the river bank: Thames gravel pit mammals Today, the River Thames is vital to millions of people and animals. During the Pleistocene epoch, 240,000-34,000 years ago, numerous familiar and unfamiliar mammals populated its banks and surrounding areas, from huge mammoths to roe deer, prowling bears to herds of bison. Come and find out […]
An insight into the current research being conducted at the University of Bristol, displaying some of the latest findings in palaeontology from one of the world’s top departments. Experts from the University will be on hand to answer any and all palaeo-related questions, happy to talk about the life of a scientist. Interactive games […]
Brand new for 2020, the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival is very excited to introduce the 1st annual, world-first “T-Rex It’s a knockout” games on Saturday 24th October on Sandy Beach in Lyme. Ten teams of four people will compete over eight hilarious rounds of games and activities in our 300sq metre games arena…..all whilst […]
Mike Benton has been a leading figure in dinosaur research all through his career, and he has made contributions in four areas. He was the first to propose in 1983 that dinosaurs exploded onto the scene 230 million years ago following an extinction event, and this model for dinosaur origins has received fresh support in […]
Dr Steve Etches MBE is a plumber by trade and began collecting fossils from the Kimmeridge Clay of Dorset over 35 years ago. His fossil collecting began at the age of 5 with a flint fossil sea urchin which he found in his back garden. Completely self-taught, what began as a hobby has now resulted […]
There is no one set path a fossil follows after its initial discovery, but in this talk, early career palaeontologist Emily Keeble will take you along a few roads a fossil may find itself down. Using examples from her education and work, we will uncover the story of fossils through preparation, research and, for a […]
Paul Barrett – Natural History Museum. Dinosaurs are justly famous for their huge sizes and total domination of Jurassic and Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems. However, they started their evolutionary journey as small, rare animals that were overshadowed by our own early ancestors and other earlier-appearing reptile groups. Until recently, palaeontologists had relatively information on dinosaur origins, […]
The colours of dinosaurs and other ancient beasts: what we know from new cutting-edge science. Over the last 12 years there has been an explosion of interest in the colours of fossil animals. Palaeobiologists can now use traces of chemicals and fragments of preserved tissue as evidence for colour reconstructions. The latest research even hints […]
Kieran Satchell from the Jurassic Coast Trust will take the audience on a prehistoric adventure and explore the wonderful organisms who have left their fossilized remains for us to find. He’ll be putting flesh on the bones of some of the most magnificent creatures to be found at the Jurassic coast as well as touching […]
Palaeoartist James Mckay explains how artists reconstruct dinosaurs, prehistoric animals, plants and ancient environments through working with scientists. Covering the history of palaeoart, from the earliest days to the latest findings, as well as his personal techniques for creating palaeoart, this is a talk for anyone interested in the prehistoric world. James will be on […]
Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, “One Man’s Rubbish is Another Man’s Treasure” is a musical collaboration brought to you by the Lyme Regis Development Trust, B Sharp, The Woodroffe School, St Michael’s Primary School and Mountjoy School. Working with geologist Jim Thomas, coordinator Dot Wood and story teller Martin Maudsley, students have created songs […]
The Lyme Regis Fossil Festival is proud to present a new and wonderful theatrical performance of “Mary Anning – The Mad Woman of Lyme Regis” by the As One Theatre on Saturday 24th October at the Marine Theatre. “It is 1846, and the little town of Lyme Regis is battered by howling winter-gales. Dying and […]
What responsibilities does the possession of a grade A vertebrate fossil bring, to its owner, to the town where it was found, to the wider academic community of palaeontology, and to public policy makers in the UK and beyond? A provocative analysis of the conflicted roles of the collector, the policy maker and the academic […]
One crime. Three suspects. Unravel the truth at Lyme Regis fossil festival! Fossil Forensics involves visitors solving a fictional crime (dinosaur bone smuggling), using sediment samples (including microfossil rich samples) as evidence to rule-out potential suspects. Visitors first read a brief and amusing news article, which introduces the crime and discusses the sequence of events […]
Where the Earth rips apart: the volcanoes of the East African Rift valley Kevin Wong, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds What happens when a continent splits in two during plate tectonics? I give an overview of my research into the processes occurring in the active continental rift of East Africa, focussing on […]
Would you like to create fantastic fish that will be part of the opening procession for the fossil festival 2020? Workshops are led by fish making expert Darrell Wakelam, at the Hub, Lyme Regis on Saturday 15th February. Suitable for ages 8 and above – adult helpers welcome. Book your place on fossilfestival.co.uk £5-00 a […]
