Join us for an afternoon / evening pop-up exhibition and discussion event, thinking about the public role of the palaeontological sciences, and celebrating the launch of the book Palaeontology in Public, Dr Chris Manias, (UCL Press, 2025).

We will be thinking about the place of science in popular culture - why have dinosaurs, human ancestors, and fossil mammals been so evocative in culture and the media?  And what about other aspects of palaeontology, like prehistoric plants and ancient invertebrates?  And what are the benefits and the challenges of communicating the deep past to public audiences?  

The event will be on Saturday 22 March, 14:30-19:30, at the King's College London Strand Campus.  Directions are here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/visit/strand-campus  (nearest stations: Temple, Embankment, Holborn, Blackfriars and Waterloo)

Draft Schedule

• 15:00-17:00: Talks by Richard Fallon, Susannah Lydon, Chris Manias, Ellinor Michel, Ilja Nieuwland, Mark Witton and Charlotte Wood

• Stalls and exhibits from the speakers, and a display of historic palaeontological films

• 18:00-19:00: A panel discussion on the place of palaeontology in public life, chaired by Professor Joe Cain (UCL), and with responses from:

• Professor Mike Benton: Palaeontologist and emeritus professor of vertebrate palaeontology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol.
• Dr Tori Herridge: Palaeontologist, broadcaster and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield.
• Dr Natalie Lawrence: Historian of science and author of Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and Their Meanings (2024)
• Dr Darren Naish: Vertebrate palaeontologist, science communicator and author of (among other things) Dinopedia (2021) and Ancient Sea Reptiles (2023).

ou can read about the book below:Palaeontology in Public: Popular Science, Lost Creatures and Deep Time (available here as an open-access pdf: https://uclpress.co.uk/book/palaeontology-in-public/ )Since the establishment of concepts of deep time in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, palaeontology has been one of the most high-profile sciences. Dinosaurs, mammoths, human ancestors and other lost creatures from Earth’s history are some of the most prominent icons of science, and are essential for our understanding of nature and time. Palaeontology and its practitioners have had a huge impact on public understandings of science, despite their often precarious and unsteady position within scientific institutions and networks. Palaeontology in Public considers the connections between palaeontology and public culture across the past two centuries. In so doing, it explores how these public dimensions have been crucial to the development of palaeontology, and indeed how they conditioned wider views of science, nature, the environment, time and the world...The book is based on the discussions of the Popularizing Palaeontology: Current & Historical Perspectives network.  You can see more details about the network here: www.poppalaeo.com

This is a free event, although places are limited so do sign up early if you would like to attend.  To register, just fill in the form below.  You will receive an email with exact directions 48 hours before the event.Attendees will also receive a 30% discount code if they want to purchase a hard-copy of the book.