Swift Inspiration from the Sky
Many of us at the Museum are inspired creatively, as well as scientifically, by the wonders of the natural world. So it is always uplifting to see that the Museum building and its collections evoke similar feelings in our visitors.… Continue reading →
The Continuing Importance of Corsi’s Legacy
Four Crowns is a studio based in Oxford which is dedicated to keeping the craft of scagliola alive. But what exactly is scagliola, and how does it relate to the Museum’s collections? Freddie Seddon, a University of Oxford Micro-Internship Programme participant at Four Crowns, tells more about this fascinating process… Scagliola is the technique of… Continue reading →
Tales of Iguanodon Tails
As one of our many invaluable volunteers, Leonie Biggenden has spent many hours beside the Iguanodon skeleton in the Museum’s main court, so she decided to go on the trail of its history…… Continue reading →
Revealing Exceptional fossils, one layer at a time
Around 120 years ago, William Sollas, Professor of Geology at the University of Oxford, developed a special technique for grinding down and imaging certain kinds of fossils. Sollas was based at the Museum at the time, and the process he pioneered is still used here today, as our Palaeobiology Technician Carolyn Lewis explains to mark… Continue reading →
A Swift Return to Summer
This morning, the 5 May and right on cue, we were treated to the first two Swifts performing a low, high speed fly-by of the tower…… Continue reading →
Hedgehog Awareness Week
For Hedgehog Awareness Week, Zoology Collections Manager Mark Carnall and Museum Librarian and Archivist Danielle Czerkaszyn discuss these prickly and charming creatures.… Continue reading →
The Evolution of Plants
To mark Plant Appreciation Day today, Lauren Baker and Chris Thorogood of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum take us on a quick tour of the evolution of plants: from primitive water-dwelling algae to the colonisation of land, and the eventual success of angiosperms – the flowering plants.… Continue reading →
The astounding story of the fake butterfly specimen Papilio ecclipsis – would you be fooled?
For April Fool’s Day, our Senior Collections Manager Darren Mann recounts the story of an elegantly fake butterfly – Papilio ecclipsis – asking whether it was a piece of scientific fraudulence or practical joke that went awry.… Continue reading →
Railway Geology part 2: Read all about it
The expansion of the railways in the 19th century offered more than just faster travel times. It introduced the wonders of geology, scenery and history to the travelling public at large.… Continue reading →
Railway Geology Part 1: The flying steed
The introduction and growth of the railway network in the first half of the 19th century not only revolutionised travel and transport of goods for many, but it also had a profound effect on the science of geology.… Continue reading →
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
