Lapworth Museum of Geology

Details

Housed within an airy Edwardian building on the University of Birmingham campus, the Lapworth Museum of Geology boasts one of the UK's most outstanding geological collections. It holds over 250,000 specimens, including an extensive array of fossils from the local Wenlock limestone, vividly illustrating life when the Midlands was a shallow tropical sea around 428 million years ago. Visitors can marvel at the exceptionally preserved 'Dudley Bug' trilobites and explore collections assembled by pioneering geologists like Charles Lapworth himself. Beyond regional treasures, the museum features globally significant items such as fish fossils from Brazil and Germany, and even crabs and lobsters from the famed Solnhofen Limestone. Entry to all galleries, which chart 4.6 billion years of Earth's history, is free.

The museum's galleries bring the story of our planet to life, from its earliest beginnings to the present day. Interactive displays, including a projector globe showing continental drift and an Active Earth gallery explaining volcanoes and earthquakes, engage all ages. Animated reconstructions depict the changing environments of the Midlands through geological time, from Silurian reefs to Carboniferous rainforests and Ice Age tundra. Don't miss the impressive replica skeletons of an Allosaurus and a Pteranodon, or the floor-to-ceiling rock wall demonstrating the rock cycle. With regularly changing temporary exhibitions and a calendar of family activities and public lectures, there’s always something new to discover.

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Location

Opening Hours

Monday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Saturday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM; Sunday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM

Contact

+44 121 414 7294