Natural Science collections have been at the heart of scientific discovery in the field of geology and biology for centuries. Meteorites, dinosaur skeletons, volcanic ash or marine microfossils can help answer questions about evolution, the origin of our planet, the interaction between humans and the natural world and our planet’s climate. Fragments of the Bristol Impact Layer, the fossilised bones of the Bristol Dinosaur or gemstones from across the former British Empire are also a portal into the natural and human history of our own city and tangible object that can connect life in the 21st century with the millions of years of Earth’s history beneath our feet. Natural Sciences collection a wonderful archive and resource for collaborative, interdisciplinary and participatory engagement at both, global and civic scale.
The University of Bristol’s Earth Science Collection is one of those unique natural sciences collections and contains over 100,000 palaeontological, petrological and mineralogical samples of scientific and historical importance. This includes over 1600 type, figured and cited specimens, 10,000 geological thin sections and slides and an archive of international geological maps. An additional 16,000 handling specimens are available for teaching.
We work closely with other collections across the University of Bristol to improve collection storage, management, public access, digitisation and research. One focus point is decolonisation.