In May 2022, a statue of Mary Anning was unveiled in her home town, Lyme Regis after a successful crowd funding campaign - Mary Anning Rocks . This achievement gives visitors to Lyme Regis a physical reminder of a remarkable woman, a fossil hunting pioneer who lived and worked here.
Mary's artist's maquette has now gone on tour round the country and can be seen at the museums listed below. And if you know a museum near you that would like to host Mary's maquette, please get in touch with the Mary Anning Rocks campaign here: hello@maryanningrocks.co.uk
Find out more about the Tour using the links below...
Next stop:
May 2022
Mary Anning's maquette sets off on tour from Lyme Regis!
September 2022 - January 2023
Lapworth Museum of Geology,
Birmingham
The third leg of the road show - the Mary Anning maquette has arrived at the Lapworth Museum of Geology - University of Birmingham. The photos show the installation and display being prepared by Aerona Moore. The display will be in the museum until Christmas (2022) and then Mary is going to the National Museum in Cardiff.
Photo credits: top right and bottom left by Jay Mason-Burns; top left and bottom right by Aerona Moore.
January 7th 2023 - March 31st 2023
National Museum Cardiff
Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd
The fourth leg of the road trip show - the Mary Anning maquette has arrived at the National Museum in Cardiff. The photos show the display and information panels centred around the maquette of Mary. The display will be in the museum until March 31st after which Mary is heading north to Creswell Crags, Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
Photo credits: Caroline Buttler and Trevor Bailey.
March 31st - May 31st 2023
Creswell Crags
June 5th - July 7th 2023
Discover Bucks Museum Aylesbury
11th-12th July 2023
Girls into Geoscience (GiGs) event at Plymouth University
In July the 10th annual Girls into Geoscience (@girlsingeosci) was hosted at Plymouth University. Two exciting days of field trips and workshops introduced female A level students to the Earth Sciences and demonstrated the world of careers open to Earth Science graduates.
The event on this occasion was slightly different as the Mary Anning maquette was on display as Anya Pearson (@MaryAnningRocks), gave an incredible talk highlighting the importance of having more female statues for more visible female role models. Did you know that there are more statues of Goats or men named ‘John’ in the UK than there are of named women?
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/earth-sciences/girls-into-geoscience
14th July to 21st September 2023
York Museum Trust, York
The 8th leg of the Mary Anning maquette road trip is to the Yorkshire Natural History Museum in York. The maquette was delivered by GA president Graham Hickman to York Museums Trust staff Curator of Natural Science Sarah King, and Shaun Pickard, (Curator of Natural Science/ Exhibition Tech. Shaun has been responsible for building the amazing exhibition, which was designed by Journal Ltd of Leeds.
There is a packed programme of family activities, self-led trails and events, including the opportunity to meet Mary Anning herself! On select dates they are excited to be welcoming Mary Anning to the Yorkshire Museum where she’ll be on hand to answer any questions and to tell her inspiring story.
Everyone is excited that Mary is in York! It's looking like an amazing, Anning-themed summer.
https://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/exhibition/mary-anning-rocks/
22nd and 23rd September 2023
Kendal Museum and GA Conference Kendal Arts Center
Mary arrives safely at Kendal Museum delivered by Sarah King.
As part of the Geologists’ Association annual conference this year, Kendal Museum unveiled a new Lakeland Geology room. On Friday the 22nd September, more than sixty geologists from across the country attended a reception at the museum which included a presentation from the Natural History curator, Carol Davies, after which Graham Hickman, the President of the Geologists’ Association declared the new ‘Sedgwick and Ruthven Room’ officially open.
The Geologists’ Association’s Annual Conference was held in Kendal this year which coincided with 50th anniversary of the Westmorland Geological Society. For the night we were also graced with a visit from fossil-hunting heroine Mary Anning, in the form of a beautiful maquette made by sculptor Denise Dutton. A self-taught palaeontologist who was underrecognized in her time, Mary Anning's discoveries helped transform scientific understanding of prehistoric life.
https://www.westmorlandgeolsoc.co.uk/
https://mailchi.mp/1cf854410121/kendal-museum-news-9334519?e=039aacbf23
6th to 14th October 2024
Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Geological host a public lecture on World Geodiversity day (6th October) by Tom Sharpe - Mary Anning and her Sea-Dragons.
The lecture celebrates UNESCO International Geodiversity Day: a worldwide celebration, bringing people together on 6th October each year, to promote all the many aspects of geodiversity.
https://www.edinburghgeolsoc.org/
https://dynamicearth.org.uk/
Tom Sharpe - Mary Anning and her Sea-Dragons
4th of November 2023
Geologists’ Association Festival of Geology at
University College London,
Gower Street, London
FoG is one of the largest free geology festivals in the country, which this year included a Lecture on ‘The Geology of Hogwarts’ by Dr Leanne Hughes of the BGS. Special Exhibition of Greenough & William Smith Geological Maps. The Mary Anning maquette was there to welcome visitors as they entered the building, and being near the RockWatch activities was viewed and photographed by groups of all ages.
7 November, 2023 - 5 January, 2024
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
The fabulous early career team from ExploretheArch behind the #FossilFinderInUsAll exhibition, who welcomed #MaryAnning to the museum, ready for the new display, which is also open 7th November.
Huge thanks to Mary Anning Rocks and Geologists' Association for making this possible!
https://www.hmag.org.uk/see-and-do/exhibitions/mary-anning-rocks/
