Mary Anning Day 2012

Yesterday was Mary Anning Day at Lyme Regis Museum, celebrating the heritage of Lyme’s most famous fossil-hunter, Mary Anning (1799 – 1847). It was a lively day of events both indoors and out-of-doors. Natalie Manifold (left) led two of her ever-popular Mary Anning walks around the town, visiting the various places that Mary lived and worked, and her burial site and memorial window in the Parish Church.

There was a packed programme of lectures in the Marine Theatre, introduced by Museum Director David Tucker (below).

The first talk was given by Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast, who gave an informative and entertaining presentation on the challenges of managing a World Heritage Site that sprawls along the Dorset and East Devon coast for almost a hundred miles. He explained that while countless sites around the world can boast beautiful coastal scenery and fascinating geology, the Jurassic Coast is unique because the way the rock strata are tilted means that by walking the hundred mile length of coast you are effectively walking through 180 million years of history, during which massive changes occurred in the evolution of life on Earth.

Richard talked a lot about coastal erosion, which, although it is understandably seen as a “threat” in human terms, is the very thing that creates the coastline and maintains its perpetual interest. Fossils are only discoverable in a brief window of time – days or weeks – after they are exposed by erosion and before they are destroyed by it. So the thousands of fossil hunters who come to the coast every year are a good thing for conservation, not a bad thing as is often supposed!

Not surprisingly, there was plenty of practical fossil hunting going on yesterday, as well as the indoor talks and Museum displays. Museum geologists Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew (right) led an enthusiastic group of fossil collectors on one of their regular walks along the beach. As well as countless ammonites and other invertebrate fossils, there was the usual find of a small but perfectly preserved ichthyosaur vertebra, which Chris can be seen holding in the photo.

There are more “Mary Anning Weekend” events at the Museum today (Sunday), and both the fossil walks and Mary Anning walks continue throughout the year.

Coming up: Mary Anning Weekend

Fossil fish and sharks are coming to Lyme Regis Museum and the Marine Theatre over the weekend (29 and 30 September). Celebrating the significance of Lyme as the birthplace of palaeontology, the museum’s Mary Anning Weekend presents two action-packed days of fossil facts and fun.

Stefanie Klug (right) of the University of Bristol uncovers the secrets of Jurassic sharks; and Matt Friedman (below, left) of the University of Oxford tells the story of the coelacanth fish, a living fossil thought to have become extinct 65 million years ago but rediscovered in 1938 still swimming the earth’s oceans.

Lyme’s own Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast, explains why our coast is so important; Tom Sharpe of the National Museum of Wales tells the story of the Philpot sisters, who were important fossil collectors in Lyme at the time of Mary Anning; and Sir Crispin Tickell, environmentalist and expert on global climate change, tackles the subject of the human future.

Museum admission is free all weekend, where there is a rare opportunity to see an exhibition of local fossil fish including the Philpot sisters’ collection on loan from Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Especially for children there are ammonite polishing activities and the chance to join in making a giant fossil fish with artist Darrell Wakelam. The museum’s geologists Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew are conducting fossil hunting walks, historian Daphne Baker presents an insight into the life of Mary Anning, and Natalie Manifold takes groups on guided walks of the town as Mary knew it.

To book talks or walks call into Lyme Regis Museum or telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

Full details and times of the weekend’s activities are:

SATURDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

SATURDAY – on the beach and around town

10am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

12.30pm AND 2.30pm MARY ANNING WALKS. Do you want to know about Mary Anning’s life in Lyme? Then go on Natalie’s guided walk.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: £3 child/student.

SATURDAY MORNING – in the Marine Theatre

10.30am to 1pm – A Morning of Discovery

10.30am – Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast explains its importance: Footsteps through Time: the Jurassic Coast in Context.

11.30am – John Cawley of University of Bristol reveals his new research: Pachycormus – Extinct Mesozoic Ray-finned Fish.

12.15pm – Dr Stefanie Klug also of University of Bristol brings to life: Sharks of the Lower Jurassic.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON – in the Marine Theatre

2pm to 5pm – Living Fossils, Collectors and the Human Future

2pm – Tom Sharpe of the National Museum of Wales discusses: The Philpot Family and other Early Lyme Fossil Collectors.

3pm – Dr Matt Friedman of University of Oxford asks: Coelacanth: Living Fossil or Specialised Survivor?

4pm – Sir Crispin Tickell author of the influential Climate Change and World Affairs poses the question: The Human Future: Whither the Anthropocene?

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £7 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SUNDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

3pm – Listen to Daphne Baker’s fascinating insight: MARY ANNING – FOSSIL PIONEER about the life and times of the Anning family in Lyme.

FREE – in the museum’s geology gallery (first floor)

SUNDAY – on the beach

10.45am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

Museum Exhibition: ‘... Where I Intend to End My Days’

News release from Carole Halden, Marketing Manager, Lyme Regis Museum:

Jennie Pearson’s textile exhibition ‘... where I intend to end my days’ has opened at Lyme Regis Museum. It celebrates the connection between Lyme and the early colonial history of Australia, in particular drawing on the story of the Spencer family of Lyme Regis.

At a preview of the exhibition (on Saturday September 1) the artist’s husband Adrian Pearson, who has researched the history of the early pioneers, gave a short talk ‘Sir Richard Spencer: a corner of Lyme in Western Australia’.

The exhibition is part of Lyme Regis ArtsFest and runs until 15 October. The museum is open every day (10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sundays) with free admission on Sunday 9th and 16th September.

Everyone is invited to a drop-in workshop with Jennie Pearson on Wednesday September 12 between 11am and 4pm. Take a sketchbook or camera – collage materials will be available – for a day of inspiration, encouragement and discussion. Materials and admission to the museum is free.

The picture shows Jennie Pearson with her husband Adrian Pearson (left), and the museum's chairman of trustees Stephen Locke. Photograph by Carole Halden.

Lyme Regis Artsfest 2012

This year's Lyme Regis ArtsFest takes place from Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th September, at venues around the town. The Museum is hosting the following events:

Art Workshop, Wednesday 12 September
Drop in free 11am - 4pm
Get creative with local artist Jennie Pearson! Bring your sketchbook or camera (there will be collage materials available if you prefer that) and prepare to be inspired by the museum's collections. Drop in between 11am and 4pm for a day of arty encouragement, convivial discussion and refreshments. Also, there is an opportunity to see Jennie's textile exhibition in the Rotunda gallery and understand her interpretation of the story behind it. Admission and materials are free.

Re-collection - launch and reception, Thursday 13 September
 17.30 - 19.30 at the Museum, free entry
Thursday 13 September sees 'The Art Crawl', an evening of events at various venues around Lyme Regis. The Museum will host an open house with the chance to meet some of Lyme's talented artists involved in 'Re:collection', and to hear their plans for creatively reinterpreting museum artefacts that have inspired them. Drinks and art chat between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. ('Re:collection' is an initiative by ArtsFest and the museum to support the creation of a contemporary archive of works across the arts, inspired by the museum's collections.)

Museum Events in September

3pm Thursday September 6: Rockpooling

Explore rockpools out on Broad Ledge with Lyme Regis Museum marine biologist Chris Andrew and geologist Paddy Howe. See at close quarters the magical world of seaweed, fish and creatures like velvet swimming crabs and squat lobsters that lie in the wake of the receding tide. Meet at the museum.

6.30pm Saturday September 8: A Look at George Vialls

Lyme Regis Museum was built in 1902. Its architect, George Vialls produced a stunning building in Northern European renaissance style with a grand staircase. Join the museum’s former curator, Max Hebditch, in looking at the life and career of this outstanding architect. Saturday September 8, drinks from 6.30pm - all are welcome, free.

11am - 4pm Wednesday September 12: Re:collection Workshop

A drop-in day for adults at Lyme Regis Museum – sketch or photograph the museum’s collections. Join artist Jennie Pearson with your sketch book or camera for a day of inspiration, convivial discussion and encouragement. Collage materials provided and a glass of wine at midday – all are welcome, free.

10am - 5pm Saturday September 29 and Sunday September 30: Mary Anning Weekend at Lyme Regis Museum

A weekend of talks, walks and children’s activities. Fossil fish and sharks will be the theme of a programme of talks by six scientists in this field of research. Among the speakers will be the eminent environmentalist Sir Crispin Tickell; Tom Sharpe of National Museum of Wales; Dr Matt Friedman of the University of Oxford; John Cawley and Dr Stefanie Klug of University of Bristol; and Richard Edmonds, Jurassic Coast Earth Science Manager. Tickets for these talks are available at the museum shop. A highlight of the weekend will be a return visit to Lyme of the Philpot sisters’ collection of fossil fish. The sisters lived in Lyme at the time of Mary Anning and their important collection went to Oxford University in 1880. Museum admission is free all weekend.

The programme of activities for Mary Anning Weekend is:

SATURDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

SATURDAY – on the beach and around town

10am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

12.30pm AND 2.30pm MARY ANNING WALKS. Do you want to know about Mary Anning’s life in Lyme? Then go on Natalie’s guided walk.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: £3 child/student.

SATURDAY MORNING – in the Marine Theatre

10.30am to 1pm – A Morning of Discovery

10.30am – Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast explains its importance: Footsteps through Time: the Jurassic Coast in Context.

11.30am – John Cawley of University of Bristol reveals his new research: Pachycormus – Extinct Mesozoic Ray-finned Fish.

12.15pm – Dr Stefanie Klug also of University of Bristol brings to life: Sharks of the Lower Jurassic.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON – in the Marine Theatre

2pm to 5pm – Living Fossils, Collectors and the Human Future

2pm – Tom Sharpe of the National Museum of Wales discusses: The Philpot Family and other Early Lyme Fossil Collectors.

3pm – Dr Matt Friedman of University of Oxford asks: Coelacanth: Living Fossil or Specialised Survivor?

4pm – Sir Crispin Tickell author of the influential Climate Change and World Affairs poses the question: The Human Future: Whither the Anthropocene?

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £7 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SUNDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

3pm – Listen to Daphne Baker’s fascinating insight: MARY ANNING – FOSSIL PIONEER about the life and times of the Anning family in Lyme.

FREE – in the museum’s geology gallery (first floor)

SUNDAY – on the beach

10.45am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

Art Exhibition until 15 October

The museum’s new exhibition, ‘... where I intend to end my days’ by local artist Jennie Pearson, explores family links between Lyme and early pioneers of her native Western Australia. Jennie’s hand- and machine-stitched textiles make the connection with references to Lyme people such as Sir Richard Spencer who, in 1833, set sail to become Government Resident of the fledgling settlement in Albany, South West Australia. The exhibition is part of Lyme’s ArtsFest and admission is free on Sunday 9th and 16th September. It runs until 15 October when the museum is open every day (10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and  11am to 5pm on Sundays).

Mary Anning Walks

• Sunday 2 September 2012 15.00
• Sunday 9 September 2012 15.00
• Sunday 16 September 2012 15.00
• Sunday 23 September 2012 15.00
• Saturday 29 September 2012 12.30 & 14.30

Fossil Walks

• Saturday 1 September 2012 11.15
• Sunday 2 September 2012 11.45
• Monday 3 September 2012 12.15
• Tuesday 4 September 2012 12.45
• Wednesday 5 September 2012 13.15
• Friday 14 September 2012 09.00
• Saturday 15 September 2012 10.00
• Sunday 16 September 2012 10.45
• Monday 17 September 2012 11.30
• Tuesday 18 September 2012 12.00
• Wednesday 19 September 2012 12.45
• Friday 28 September 2012 09.15
• Saturday 29 September 2012 10.00
• Sunday 30 September 2012 10.45

The picture at the top of the page shows Lyme Regis Museum, whose architect was George Vialls, while the one on the left shows the cupola Vialls placed on the top of the Museum. Both photographs are by Peter Wiles.