Vicky Ward

It's not everyday you iron your dino 😅🤣 @GeologyLeics @LeicesterCSSAH

Sign the Petition Save Geology at the University of Leicester

www.change.org/p/save-geolo...

If you feel you can sign, please do. Spread the word

The UK universities cutting geography have lost their bearings From climate change to geopolitics, the knowledge, skills and insights of geographers have never been more relevant, say five professors

Geography's 'combination of STEM, social science and arts and humanities can sit uneasily within university faculty systems, heightening the risk that we are dismantled into separate components.' 1/2

UK university staff: please complete our survey about redundancies Academic or professional staff, employed or unemployed, we are anxious to hear your perspectives

Have any of your colleagues recently been made redundant by a UK university? Have you? Do you fear losing your job? What has been the effect of redundancies on departmental morale? We are keen to hear your views

Amusing myself, by making my own convoy 😆😅🤣😂

I absolutely love the specimens for this prac, from GL2105 2nd year Seds module 🤩 @GeologyLeics

Look what one of our awesome Geology students made for me 😍🤘🏻
#gottakeeprockin' @GeologyLeicester

My job is not being saved 😔

There's still time to register for our next free online lecture this coming Friday at 19.00 GMT: Reconstructing the Cretaceous Greenhouse by Prof Andy Gale from Portsmouth University.

Email sarah@geologistsassociation.org.uk for details.

Published illustration of part of an ichthyosaur skull showing the bony plates of the large eye and the bones of the skull and back of the jaw.

Mary Anning's drawing of the same ichthyosaur skull copied from the published plate.

#FossilFriday: a partial ichthyosaur skull, the published figure from an 1822 paper (left), and a hand-drawn copy of the plate by #MaryAnning (right). Although unrecorded, the fossil may have been in the collection of Thomas Birch, and been found originally by Anning in the Lias of Lyme Regis.

The prehistoric shark found in a suburban town in Scotland The fossil was so complete experts could see remains of the last meal it ate, 330 million years after it died.

Fascinating story. The fossil is on display at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

The BGS national geological repository. The view is the walkway between two huge racks, which are filled floor to ceiling with core boxes.

Geological core stored in the BGS National Geological Repository

With space at a premium and the advance of new digitisation techniques, why does retaining over 600 km of physical rock core remain of national importance?

Follow the link to find out: www.bgs.ac.uk/news/why-do-...

Looking for a PhD in palaeontology or associated fields? Just a heads up that we have a list of opportunities on the @thepalass.bsky.social website:

palass.org/phd-opportun...

⚒️🧪🦀🦑 #evosky

(If you're advertising one, you can add it to our listings too: palass.org/form/webform... )

Glittering butterflies: Natural History Museum describes 262 new species in 2025 | Natural History Museum Over the last 12 months our scientists have been busy cataloguing the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth.

Our scientists have been busy this year!

From dinosaurs to diatoms, they have helped to describe an amazing 262 new species from all around the world! 🪸🐠🦎🦋🪱

Read more about this year’s new species list 👇🏻
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Geology imperilled - GEOSCIENTIST In recent years, universities across many western nations, including several in the UK, have closed Earth science courses and downsized their geology departments. The University of Leicester is the la...

If you read nothing else today, read this....
geoscientist.online/sections/vie...

Vital seaweed habitats aren’t being protected by ocean reserves | Natural History Museum Some of the ocean’s most important habitats aren’t included in protected areas.

SOS - Save our seaweeds!

Rising temperatures and disease are threatening seaweeds all over the world. Despite their importance, protected areas often overlook these vital ecosystems.

A new project aims to change this with the help of seaweed farmers. Find out how 👇
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

One weird thing about working in a university is that a bunch of people who don’t teach, & don’t understand your subject area, have strong opinions about what & how you should teach, how you should assess, & the value of your courses. Same deal your research. Those people are in charge.

A pink oval cabochons mounted on a metal rod on a grey shelf with a grey background. There are some fractures in it. At the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.

Guess the Gem time!! What mineral do you think this gem is? Hint: in the past gems of this mineral were called rubies, though now the term refers to corundum. #GuessTheGem #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪💎

More home comforts in Bennett's Underpants 😅🤣

Addressing Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change Together: A Great Opportunity for Museums with Natural History Collections Written by Henry McGhie, Curating Tomorrow, henrymcghie@curatingtomorrow.co.uk This year has seen not one but two ‘COPs’ (Conference of the Parties), the big meetings where governments monitor thei…

Have been following this blog from the Natural Sciences Collections Association for a while now… always intriguing…

natsca.blog/2024/11/28/a...

There’s still time to register for the 2025 Winter Seminar and Annual General Meeting of the Geological Collections Group, taking place this December at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery!

🚨Registration closes December 1st - don’t miss out!🚨

Fun with Fossils: Using Museum Collections in the 21st Century Posted on by geocurators Written by Harry T. Jones, who is a GCG assistant blog editor and palaeontological researcher. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you have …

In our most recent blog post, Harry Jones, GCG assistant blog editor and palaeontological researcher, reflects on how working with museum collections has shaped his career 🦖

Give it a read here: geocollnews.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/f...

Latest whiteboard challenge in Bennett's Underpants 🤣
@LeicesterGeog
@GeologyLeics

Sign the Petition Save Geography at the University of Leicester

c.org/tKD9mRvRdP

Please sign 🙏🏻
To "dissolve" us is criminal

I've been ordered to go and spend time with my favourite rocks, to help soothe my soul
So, I'm in stores with my gabbros 😍😆❤️ @GeologyLeics @LeicesterGeog

"Jane" mount in the Burpee Museum

Reconstructed Azhdarchid skeleton in the Burpee Museum - mostly based on "Quetzalcoatlus" lawsoni but intended to represent Infernodrakon hastacollis

Selfie of me in front of Jane the Nanotyrannus lethaeus

An interesting quirk of today's taxonomic revision is that one jacket from the Jane Quarry, long assumed to contain specimens of famous species, actually contained what would become two holotypes of two distinct species — Infernodrakon hastacollis and Nanotyrannus lethaeus

Yup. Same story here

I note that the university cut-backs haven’t yet extended as far as leaf-blowers 🍃 🍂

How to Get a Job Working with Museum Collections Written by Sarah Burhouse, Caitlin Jamison, Bethany Palumbo & Vicky Ward. Compiled by Jennifer Gallichan, Vertebrate Curator, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. Those of us that that are lucky enough to work with natural science collections will be familiar with the question ‘How do you get a job in a museum’? At a time when cuts to the sector mean that museum jobs seem even fewer and farther between, I felt it was important that we share some of our combined experiences to hopefully give some tips (and hope) for emerging museum professionals.

How to Get a Job Working with Museum Collections

Written by Sarah Burhouse, Caitlin Jamison, Bethany Palumbo & Vicky Ward. Compiled by Jennifer Gallichan, Vertebrate Curator, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. Those of us that that are lucky enough to work with natural science collections will be…

Dinosaur cleaning, anyone?? 😆