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Dinosaurs
The Isle of Wight: Welcome to Dinosaur Island
Discover a treasure trove of fossils just off Britain’s south coast.
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Science news
Organic molecules in Martian crater help to reconstruct planet’s history
NASA’s Perseverance rover may have discovered organic molecules on the surface of Mars.
4 August 2023 -
Fossil hunting: How to find fossils on the beach
All it takes is a bit of practice and plenty of patience.
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Collections
Travelling 2.5 billion years back in time on the search for the UK's oldest rock
Our scientists are looking for a rock that formed so long ago it was on Earth before complex life lived on land.
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News
The first known dinosaur egg? A new discovery from the Museum's collection
A serendipitous discovery revealed that a beautiful mineral has been hiding a secret for over 170 years.
29 March 2023 -
Science news
Stromboli's 'rejuvenation' heralds era of more variable volcanic eruptions
An unexpected series of eruptions at Stromboli may be due to changes in the volcano's internal 'plumbing'.
16 December 2022 -
What on Earth?
Supervolcanoes and their enormous eruptions
Discover what a supervolcano is, what their eruptions are like and how they impact our planet.
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Science news
The oldest evidence of life on Earth could help us discover ancient life on Mars
Minute structures found in 3.48-billion-year-old Australian rocks are the oldest evidence of life on Earth.
11 November 2022 -
Science news
Ancient crater lakes on Mars could have hosted life
Investigating Mars' dry lakes could help scientists to discover how life began on Earth.
16 September 2022 -
Collections
Jubilee agate: a royal piece of quartz
The specimen is currently on display at the Museum in the Minerals gallery.
1 June 2022 -
News
Greenland asteroid struck world recovering from dinosaur extinction
While its impacts are uncertain, it could have caused the world to warm significantly.
11 March 2022 -
Science news
Volcano 'recharging' can give clues about its next eruption
The way a volcano is filled with boiling hot magma can help improve forecasts of how it will next erupt.
7 January 2022 -
News
The growth of mountains helped the development of early life
Rising mountains helped guide the development of multicellular life as they provided nutrients for its development. But that came at a price.
25 October 2021 -
News
Mexican mangrove forests offer glimpse into 110,000-year-old 'lost world'
The 'lost world' gives a glimpse of the planet before the last Ice Age.
9 October 2021 -
News
Work to begin on Mary Anning statue for Lyme Regis
A milestone has been reached in the campaign for a statue of fossil hunter Mary Anning in Lyme Regis.
21 January 2021 -
Anthropocene
Your mobile phone is powered by precious metals and minerals
The world's rarest mineral resources are in your hands.
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Anthropocene
What is e-waste and what can we do about it?
The UK is one of the largest producers of household e-waste in the world.
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Science news
Ancient river systems on Mars seen in unparalleled detail
A satellite has revealed ancient Martian rivers in more detail than ever before.
5 May 2020 -
Dinosaurs
The world's first dinosaur park: what the Victorians got right and wrong
They aren't scientifically accurate, but the Crystal Palace dinosaurs have a special place in the history of palaeontology.
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Science news
First fossils of crocodile-like phytosaurs from southern Africa
The Triassic reptiles were found in Zimbabwe.
23 January 2020 -
Dinosaurs
Dinosaur footprints: how do they form and what can they tell us?
Dinosaur bones aren't the only way we can learn about the ancient reptiles that once roamed around our planet.
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Dinosaurs
What is it like to go on a dino dig?
Explore an interactive story about Museum experts' adventure to Wyoming, USA, when they went off-grid in search of Jurassic dinosaurs.
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How to make a volcano
Follow our guide to make a simple volcano from a plastic bottle and watch it erupt.
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Dinosaurs
How are dinosaur fossils formed?
Even though dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, we know about them thanks to fossils. Watch our animation to find out how dinosaur fossils formed.
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Dinosaurs
How to find dinosaur fossils
Discover how palaeontologists find and dig up prehistoric reptiles.
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Space
Meet a space researcher who's over the Moon about her work
Growing up in the Apollo era of the seventies, Prof Sara Russell fantasised about working on space missions.
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Dinosaurs
How to become a palaeontologist
Dr Susie Maidment shares what it's like to be a dinosaur researcher, how she got into this career and advice for budding palaeontologists.
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News
A series of Mary Anning films are about to hit the cinemas
Pioneering woman palaeontologist to hit cinema screens soon.
4 July 2019 -
Dinosaurs
Meet the Museum's dinosaur hunters
Get to know the Museum scientists working on the latest dinosaur discoveries.
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Collections
Nadine Gabriel: studying 4.6 billion years of history
The face of modern science is young, black, female and ambitious.
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Collections
Ida Slater: a geologist ahead of her time
Discover the important contributions made by one of London's first woman geologists.
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What on Earth?
The 1883 Krakatau eruption: a year of blue Moons
The mystery of blue Moons lies in the ashes of volcanic eruptions.
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News
China successfully lands Chang'e-4 spacecraft on the far side of the Moon
These are the first images from the surface of the far side of the Moon.
4 January 2019 -
Science news
Over 270 new species discovered in 2018
They include new dinosaurs, an ancient wombat and a giant shark.
27 December 2018 -
News
Mary Anning Rocks: the campaign for a statue of the palaeontologist in Lyme Regis
A campaign group have attracted national attention for their quest to get her permanently commemorated.
21 May 2022 -
Dinosaurs
Can you find dinosaurs in Ireland?
Why have so few dinosaur fossils been found in Ireland? It's all to do with the island's geological history.
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Collections
Attenborosaurus: a celebrity reptile
This long-necked skeleton is Attenborosaurus, an extinct marine reptile named after legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
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Science news
Biggest river delta ever discovered on Mars hints at an ancient ocean
Researchers have found evidence that suggests Mars once had an ancient ocean and a water cycle similar to Earth's.
10 September 2018 -
News
It's official: we can't terraform Mars
Scientists have concluded that there is not enough carbon dioxide on Mars for humans to live on the planet.
30 July 2018 -
Space
The search for life on Mars
To help us tell fact from science fiction, scientists and engineers involved in the ExoMars 2020 program discuss the latest on the search for life on Mars.
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Science news
Ancient meteorite gives a glimpse into the crust of Mars
A meteorite sample from the Museum collection is revealing more about how and when the crust of the Red Planet formed.
24 May 2018 -
360° fossil-hunting adventure
Go on a virtual fossil hunt along Charmouth Beach.
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Space
How did the Moon form?
Before the Earth and Moon, there was a proto-Earth and Theia. Museum planetary science researcher Prof Sara Russell explains the origins of Earth's closest companion.
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News
Volcano study shows timeline of magma behaviour before eruption
A new approach for analysing minerals in volcanic rocks is helping scientists work out what happens inside a volcano before it erupts.
12 October 2016 -
News
First evidence that asteroids delivered water to the Moon
Water on the surface of the Moon was supplied by asteroids, a study has shown.
31 May 2016 -
News
Mysterious missing xenon gas traced to Earth's interior
Vast quantities of 'missing' xenon may be trapped kilometres below Earth's surface.
10 December 2015 -
News
Museum to display rare meteorite from solar system's birth
The satsuma-sized Ivuna meteorite contains a record of primordial material from 4.6 billion years ago - around the same time as the formation of the sun and planets.
6 June 2018 -
Collections
Britain's first geological map
Unearth 15 facts about William Smith’s pioneering map, which was published in 1815.
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News
Laser technique wins innovation award
Museum researchers are part of an international team that has won a prestigious engineering award for a new laser-based prospecting method.
4 December 2014 -
News
Inside the mind of a volcano
As the new Volcanoes and Earthquakes gallery prepares to blast open, Museum volcanologist talks about predicting disasters and exploring off limits on the slopes of volcanoes.
12 February 2018