Rock Show Online

Every year our Rock Show has new displays:

Examples of Topics	Displays
Field locations	Jurassic Coast, Cornwall, Ireland
Local geology	chalk pits, rivers, building stones
Current interest	HS2, fossil finds, earthquakes, volcanoes
Earth Science	climate change, tectonics, stratigraphy

The Earth's crust is constantly being recycled. When old crust melts it becomes magma which may cool to form new igneous rocks. At the Earth's surface all rocks are subject to erosion, which reduces them to sediments from which new sedimentary rocks will form. When rocks get buried deep enough to be subjected to heat and pressure their chemical composition changes and metamorphic rocks are formed.

Geological Society Rock Cycle Factsheet

Igneous Rocks - Extrusive

Metamorphic Rocks

Igneous Rocks - Intrusive

Sedimentary Rocks

Rock Galleries by HHGS member Allan Wheeler.

The Fossils Quiz is by HHGS member, Jackie Gill.
Click through each page to learn about plants and animals - ancient and modern - then select your answers to the questions and see how much you've learnt!

It works best if you [Open in new Window] by clicking bottom right icon as shown here.

If the quiz above doesn't appear you can download the full version below:

Download the full version here.
(300MB).

INTERACTIVE QUIZ: Facts, questions, answers - sound effects for right/wrong

Supporting Science Week
British Science Week 2024: 8-17 March

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TO EXPLORE ROCK SHOW

Fluorescence
Some minerals absorb ultra-violet (UV) radiation and convert it to longer wavelengths. The minerals glow because UV radiation excites the electrons in their atoms and sends them to a higher energy state.

Phosphorescence
Fluorescence stops when the UV light is removed. If the effect does not stop immediately it is called phosphorescence. This can last up to a few minutes.

Which minerals fluoresce?
You might think that fluorite will always fluoresce, but in fact it needs to contain specific rare earth elements: europium or yttrium. Too much or too little of these 'activators' will stop the effect, as will the presence of iron.
Scheelite is a mineral that always fluoresces under UV light.
In daylight we are not able to notice fluorescence, so at the Rock Show we use curtains to give the necessary darkness to our display before switching on the UV lights.

Glowing Rocks Display
Our light box can shine UV light at two different wavelengths. Different minerals respond to different wavelengths.

What's in our Light Box?

"It looks like Hallowe'en!"

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Industry

Everything we have comes from the Earth. If it doesn't grow, it has to be dug up and processed.
Minerals are mined: gold, silver, diamonds, halite (salt), haematite (iron, steel), bauxite (aluminium), anthracite (coal), cassiterite (tin).
Rocks are quarried: marble (statues), limestone (construction), granite (kerb stones), sandstone (pavements).

Environment Agency River Pinn Project

More information in our Local Geology page

The British Isles have a unique geological heritage. We have some of the oldest rocks in the world (Lewisian Gneiss, more than 2000 million years, my) and some of the youngest (London Clay 50my and East Anglian glacial deposits, less than 1my). The uniqueness of the British Isles geology is that we have examples of most of the rocks in-between.

1. England and Wales

On our field trips we visit many favourite holiday spots. The photographic records below have explanations of the main features you can expect to see in each region.

The South West and Jurassic Coast Wales North of England Central England London and the South East

Watch this space!
Coming in November:
Scotland and Ireland

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for Holidays Overseas

When you reach your holiday destination, local museums, newsagents or bookshops will often have pocket guides to local geology.

Do you like fossils? Learn more

When you go on holiday look at the texture and colour of the rocks around you. White chalk cliffs abound in the south east of England. Cream coloured sedimentary rocks are present in the Jurassic coast of the south of England and on the north east coast. Are the layers of rock horizontal, tilted or contorted? Are there any fossils? Hard, volcanic rocks and other igneous rocks are present in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall.

See sections on Wales and The South West

See section on London and the South East

See sections on Central England and Wales

2. Holidays overseas

Guernsey and Sark Rhineland Belgium Italy

Until about 8000 years ago the British Isles were joined to continental Europe across the English Channel and the geology continues into France, Belgium and Germany. For instance the London Clay is the same as the Ypres Clay in Belgium, which made the conditions in the WW1 trenches so bad. Belgium, Germany and northern France have coal fields as does Britain.
The major piece of geology which the British Isles lacks is active volcanoes. Our volcanoes have been extinct for millions of years. France and Germany’s volcanoes have only been extinct for thousands of years. Further south Italy has several active volcanoes and suffers frequent earthquakes.