Each month we present a short video showcasing an object from the Lapworth Museum collection.
Previous objects include the following
Fathead ammonite
Mike Hermily, long-term volunteer at the Lapworth Museum of Geology, describes a 'Fathead' ammonite he has chosen for his Object of the Month.
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Portland Screw snail shell fossil
Ellen, receptionist at the Lapworth Museum of Geology, describes her choice of a Portland Screw snail shell fossil as Object of the Month.
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Sauropod femur
Richard, Academic Keeper at the Lapworth Museum of Geology , describes his choice of a fantastic Jurassic dinosaur bone as Object of the Month
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Lapworth's notebook
Derren, a PhD student in structural geology, describes his choice of one of Charles Lapworth's field notebooks as Object of the Month at the Lapworth Museum of Geology
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Smilodon skull
Anna, Learning and Community Development Officer at the Lapworth Museum of Geology, describes the skull of a Smilodon, or sabre-toothed cat.
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Lava bomb
Lava bomb from the infamous 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption in New Zealand
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Gypsum crystal
Spectactular example of gypsum crystal from Manangatang, Australia
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Fossil trackways
Late Carboniferous tetrapod footprints from Alverley in Shropshire
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Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, more commonly named as Fool’s Gold.
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Mammoth tooth
A 40,000 year old mammoth tooth excavated from Upton Warren in Worcestershire in 1955 by Professor Shotton and his research assistant Russell Coope.
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Flexible sandstone
A thin flexible sheet of sandstone from a bed or cliff in Jhajjar, near Delhi, India. Formed from the decomposition of gneisses which contained feldspar grains.
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Pahoehoe lava
A volcanic rock specimen from Mt Meru in Tanzania - possibly from the most recent eruption in 1910.
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Carbonaceous chondrite - Allende meteorite
This fragment was part of the Allende meteorite, the largest carbonaceous chondrite ever found on Earth, the fireball of which was witnessed on February 8th 1969, falling over the Mexican state of Chihuahua at the speed of 10 miles per second..
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Honorary Doctorate speech given for Marie Sklodowska Curie
A transcript of the speech given by the principal of the university, Sir Oliver Lodge, when the University of Birmingham awarded Marie Sklodowska Curie an Honorary Doctorate in 1913.
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Rutile in Quartz - TiO2 in SiO2
Location unknown
This mineral shows quartz with needle-like rutile embedded in it. Most rutilated quartz is formed by hydrothermal processes, and as the high temperatures cool and the pressure eases, rutile crystals become trapped inside the quartz crystals. Watch the video
Hemicyclaspis murchisoni
Dudley, UK
This example of an osteostracan is of particular importance as articulated specimens (with this incredible bony headshield attached to the rest of the body) are extremely rare. Watch the video
The Odessa Meteorite
Ector County, Texas, U.S.A.
This meteorite sample came from an impact which is estimated to have taken place around 60,000 years ago during the Pleistocene, near what is today Odessa in Texas. Watch the video
Crotalocephalus sp. trilobite
Morocco
This exceptionally preserved trilobite displays sharp pleural and pygidial spines. It was found in Anti Atlas in Morocco and is from the Lower Devonian period and therefore approximately 415-400 million years old. Watch the video
Charles Lapworth's microscope
Designed by Professor Charles Lapworth and manufactured by Birmingham’s J.Parkes & Son in 1896, this remarkable microscope holds historic and scientific significance for the studies of biostratigraphy; the use of fossils for comparative aging of different rock sequences.
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Antrimpos speciosus
Bavaria, Germany
This exceptionally preserved fossil shrimp is fully articulated complete with appendages including legs and antennae, body parts which are not normally preserved.
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Pinus yorkshirensis - Fossilised pine cone
A fossil discovered amongst the Lapworth Museum collections has been identified as the oldest known fossil pine cone. Until recently, little was known about the specimen which was found many years ago during an undergraduate geology fieldtrip to the Yorkshire Coast.
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Shotton Normandy landings map
Fred Shotton (1906-1990) was born in Coventry and went on to become Professor and Head of the Geology Department at the University of Birmingham. This map shows the vital role he played during the Second World War as a senior military geologist.
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