Quick review of the Yorkshire Fossil Festival 2015

On Saturday we visited the Yorkshire Fossil Festival in Scarborough. Although it is rather late in the year, the weather was glorious. For most of the day there was barely a cloud in the sky. There were plenty of exhibits aimed at people of all ages and interests (e.g. fossils, minerals, meteorites, etc.), including exhibits from the local Rotunda Museum, in addition to those from  further afield, e.g. the Natural History Museum, London, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, as well as learned societies such as the Palaeontological Association and the Geological Association. Our author, Dean Lomax (of Dinosaur Britain) was signing copies of his highly acclaimed Dinosaurs of the British Isles book and his Fossils of the Whitby Coast book and taking questions from the public. He was also helping them to identify strange and wonderful fossils that they had found and brought along with them.

Dean Lomax discussing fossils with one of the visitors to the festival

In addition to the 'academic' content of the event there were loads of activities for kids, including mapping out the geology of the British Isles with different coloured stones, a ride inside the belly of a pliosaur and guided rock-pooling trips to name but a few. Of course the proximity to the beach made for additional fun including a giant sand plesiosaur ... and, of course, ice cream!

Definitely worth keeping this event in mind for next year, especially if you have palaeo mad kids who also enjoy the seaside!