@lapworthmuseum.bsky.social
From dinosaurs to volcanoes, we engage all ages & backgrounds with 4.6 billion years of Earth history and evolution ππ¦
It may be getting colder, but at least it's not this frosty! This photograph was taken on a Uni of Bham field trip to Svalbard in 1951.
The photo is in our exhibition celebrating 125 years of student life and research centred around the Museum - visit before it ends on 31 Oct!
#ThrowbackThursday
Where do volcanic bombs get their shape from? They become rounded due to cooling and solidifying mid-air after they are ejected from the volcano during an eruption.
Image by Greg Milner.
#LapworthRocks #TectonicTuesday #volcano #volcanic #tectonic #rocks #rock #geology #museum
It's October now and we are getting autumnal vibes from this pteridosperm specimen, also known as a seed fern.
What are your favourite things about autumn? π
Image by Greg Milner.
#LapworthRocks #FloraFriday #Autumn #fossils #fossil #fern #palaeontology #paleontology #museum #geologyrocks
The Vesey Club was founded as a literary and scientific society in Birmingham by Benjamin Stone (1838β1914), a good friend of Charles Lapworth (1842β1920). Lapworth was a member, and took part in the 1890 visit to Norway where he was responsible for the geological excursions!
Image by Greg Milner.
Dr Daniel Villar (Durham University) @daniel-a-villar.bsky.social will speak about the importance of fieldwork for macroecology and macroevolution at our next Lapworth Lecture, open to everyone and free to attend both on campus and remotely.
π Mon 27 Oct, 5:30pm
More info: www.birmingham.ac.uk...
Photogrammetry uses multiple overlapping photographs to create a 3D model, and can digitally recreate all sorts of impressive details. Just look at the original ink label and stunning septa of this Acervularia coral!
Explore this digital model at: https://skfb.ly/6EnTG.
Kyanite, also known as disthene or cyanite, is an aluminium silicate mineral found in metamorphic pegmatites and sedimentary rocks. It typically forms sprays of bladed crystals, and is often blue in colour, though can be found in white or light green.
Image by Greg Milner. #MineralMonday
#OnThisDay Charles Lapworth was born, one of the most influential geologists of the late 19th & 20th centuries.
We have an event on 6 Oct relating to Lapworth's work, all about peculiar palaeontology! Join us & see how science has evolved since 1900.
Book your free place: peculiar-palaeontolo...
Arachnida is the class of arthropods famously containing spiders and scorpions, alongside ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvesters, and solifuges. Fossils in the arachnid order Uraraneida have been dated as old as the Devonian, approximately 387 million years ago!
Image by Greg Milner.
Dogs were not always by our side, but there is some evidence that domestication occurred simultaneously in different regions, with early dogs found in Germany and Siberia, both dated to 33,000 β 36,000 years old.
Post by Elijah L. I. Wait.
Step back in time with us... to learn all about peculiar #palaentology!
Hear from Prof. Lapworth himself on the weird and wonderful world of early 1900s palaeontology, then from modern-day experts on how science has evolved our understanding of fossils.
π
Mon 6 Oct, 18:30
peculiar-palaeontolo...
Black Country-born John Shaw (1873β1948) constructed his prototype seismograph using anything he could get his hands on, from tin cans to old bicycle parts. This is Shawβs own instrument, which he used in the seismic recording station at his home in West Bromwich.
Image by Greg Milner.
This specimen represents Paleodictyon. They first appear in the geological record as far back as the Precambrian/Early Cambrian, and exist to this day. Despite efforts, scientists have been unable to identify which organism creates these enigmatic hexagonal structures.
Post by Elijah L. I. Wait.
Put on The Wombats, this #ToothyTuesday weβre looking at Phascolomys, a giant wombat from the Pleistocene! Found in Australia, these incisors are similar to those of wombats today. They helped Phascolomys tear through tough plants, and continuously grew to combat wear.
Post by Charley Pearson.
These specimens show Didymograptus murchisoni, graptolites collected from Abereiddy Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Graptolites are incredibly useful as index fossils, and Abereiddy is a fantastic locality, I recommend a visit if you're in the area.
Post by Elijah L. I. Wait.
Update to Museum opening times π¦
Until Fri 29 Aug 2025 inclusive, Mon to Fri - 10:00 till 17:00
From Mon 1 Sept 2025 inclusive, Mon to Fri - 10:00 till 16:00
Sat and Sun opening times will not change - 12:00 till 17:00 as usual
For more info: www.birmingham.ac.uk...
#LapworthRocks
Terrible photo, but this is a late nineteenth-century educational model of Pareiasaurus, on display in the '125 years of research and education at the Lapworth Museum of Geology' exhibition at the @lapworthmuseum.bsky.social. Don't see many of those around.
23.08.2025 07:13 β π 14 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
For #FossilFriday, this cast shows just how big T. rex teeth would be, with the crown (the part you would be able to see) and its root (the part hidden inside the jaws). They are serrated and typically have an oval base, distinguishing them from Nanotyrannus teeth.
Post by Charley Pearson.
#Throwback to 2019 when Mary Anning visited the Museum to talk about the fossils she'd found on the #Jurassic Coast in Dorset!
Our final #FamilyFun event of the summer is next Weds 27 August, this time we explore the #fossils of the #WestMidlands. For more info: www.birmingham.ac.uk...
While they may be hard to see through all the other little bones, this weekβs #ToothyTuesday is the jaws of a mole (along with the full skeleton)!
Moles use their small, sharp teeth to not only grip onto slippery prey, but males also use them when fighting for territory.
Post by Charley Pearson.
Please note the Museum will be closed on Monday 25th August 2025 due to the August Bank Holiday. Normal opening hours will resume on Tuesday 26th August 2025.
We hope everyone enjoys their Bank Holiday!
This strange object is actually a belemnite phragmocone. Belemnites are an extinct group of cephalopods that lived for ~135 million years, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Phragmocones would have been used to regulate the creatureβs buoyancy, like modern cuttlefish!
Post by Charley Pearson.
Look at this amazing Paleochiropteryx tupaidon cast, a species of Eocene bat! The elongated phalanges, present in all bats, form the wing, along with the patagium. The patagium is visible here, and the two different placements show how the wing attaches to the fingers.
Post by Charley Pearson.
This Acheulean handaxe was collected in Sturry, Kent. This style tool is the longest used tool in human history, with the oldest dating to 1.6-1.75 million years ago. These tools are unusually common, leading academics to suggest they played a role in sexual selection.
Post by Elijah L. I. Wait.
Did you know a genus of #dinosaur, Stellasaurus, was named after Starman by David Bowie? β
Speaking of #DavidBowie, we are excited to have the Major Toms perform a tribute to Bowie at the Museum on Thurs 20 Nov!
Grab the last few early bird tickets: themajortoms-lapwort...
#WhatsNewWednesday
What can we learn about the composition of our Earth? What are tectonic plates? Find out in our learning sessions, available for primary and secondary schools: ow.ly/UPi350WBbc3
#TectonicTuesday #LapworthRocks #learning #schools #geology
Are you set to explore the campus like never before?
Final free tickets available, get them now!
Tue 12 Aug - ow.ly/JuaF50WtNcu
#LapworthRocks #geologyrocks #walking #nature #event #geology #history
A white, ridged seashell against a black background
Happy #MolluscMonday! This Trochus nigropunctatus gastropod is a species of sea snail, and comes from our Holcroft collection. Have you been to the beach this year? Did you find any seashells?
#LapworthRocks #MolluskMonday #fossils #fossil #museum #geology #shell #palaeo #palaeontology
Selfie of me nect to the plant table
Rory and allosaurus skeleton, with lots of faux wisteria vines draped over him
A close up of the fossils on the plant table
Me standing behind the plant table, doing my best impression of what a smile should be... and failing miserably, instead achieving only a stained grimace
Some photos this #FossilFriday from the Family Fun Day I hosted at @lapworthmuseum.bsky.social on Wednesday!!!!
It was such an amazing day!!! Hundreds of people, plenty of plants, and Rory dressing up all fancy for the occasion!!!
#paleontology #paleobotany #plants #scicomm #botany #MuseumSelfie
Eophrynus prestvicii, the Coseley Spider, is an extremely well-preserved, 300-million-year-old #arachnid discovered near Dudley. Though it looks like modern #spiders, it was unable to spin a web, instead catching prey using powerful jaws!
#FossilFriday #LapworthRocks #geology #palaeontology
