Mary Anning Rocks at the Yorkshire Museum from 14th July 2023 and online talks

An exciting new exhibition ‘Mary Anning Rocks’ will celebrate the inspiring story of the renowned palaeontologist. Best known for discovering Jurassic marine fossils in Lyme Regis on the south western coast of England, this family friendly display will introduce Mary Anning (1799-1847), and explain how this pioneering woman of science changed the way we view the natural world.

Free Online Talks
Below is the programme of free online talks delivered by a wonderful variety of experts. All Expert Lectures are free of charge and will be available to watch live on YouTube.

Thursday 7 September, 4:30pm-5:30pm, ONLINE

With Dr Liam Herringshaw

Mary Anning never visited Yorkshire, but she’d have felt right at home among the coastal rocks and fossils. This is especially true at Redcar and Robin Hood’s Bay, where the rocks contain fossils of the same age as those of Lyme Regis and Charmouth. The Yorkshire Coast is uniquely different to Dorset, though, in that not only does much of its Jurassic and Cretaceous bedrock contain fossils, but so do the Ice Age deposits draped on top of them.

Thursday 14 September 2023, 4:00-5:00, ONLINE

With Dr Tori Herridge.

You’ve heard of Mary Anning. Everyone pretends she has been forgotten, but actually she was famous in her own time, and has been repeatedly ‘rediscovered’ ever since. So, most likely, you have heard of her. But did you know she was just one of many women who collected and studied fossils at that time? And did you know many of these women were collaborators, correspondents, and friends? Dr Tori Herridge will share stories from the TrowelBlazers archive (trowelblazers.com) that fight back against the idea of celebrity lone heroes, challenge lazy storytelling tropes, and change the way you think about the history of women in science. The past is more complicated, and far more interesting than you think — with important lessons for us all today

Previous talks:

Wednesday 26 July, 4:30pm-5:30pm  Now on YouTube

With Tom Sharpe

More has been written about Mary Anning (1799–1847), the fossil dealer of Lyme Regis, than about any other geologist, apart from Charles Darwin. Separating the facts from the fictions about Mary Anning can be challenging, but her story is a remarkable tale in its own right. This talk will examine what we know of the life of this extraordinary woman and her famous discoveries, and her part within the developing science of palaeontology in the early nineteenth century.

Tom Sharpe was formerly Curator of Palaeontology and Archives at the National Museum of Wales. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the Museums Association, and is a former Chair of the Geological Curators’ Group and History of Geology Group. He has published on the work of the geologists Henry De la Beche and William Smith and on the history of the geological exploration of Antarctica. He is the author of “The Fossil Woman. A Life of Mary Anning”, published by The Dovecote Press in November 2020, and now available in paperback.

Thursday 10 August, 4:30pm-5:30pm, Now on YouTube

With Dr Anjana Khatwa

Imagine filling out a bingo card of famous TV presenters, authors and scientists who have contributed to our understanding of our natural world. David Attenbrorough – check. Chris Packham – check. Charles Darwin – check. All worthy, all notable but there is a significant part of society that is always missing from this list when I run this exercise in my work, people who have Black and Brown skin. This is not through a disinterest in nature for Black and Brown communities have enduring relationships with the natural environment that can be traced back for thousands of years. Could the missing faces be due to other factors? Join me to discover why this is and how diversity in nature and science matters not just for representation, but for the survival of our planet itself.