We run in-person continuing professional development (CPD) sessions for primary teachers from our London and Keyworth offices. If you’re a teacher following the National Curriculum in England or Wales and want to get to grips with rocks, fossils, mountains, volcanoes and other geology teaching in the primary curriculum, join us for a session of lessons and demos you can take straight into the classroom.

The following sessions are available, please click on the links to reserve your place:

• Wednesday 4th March – Natural History Museum, London
  
• Thursday 5th March – BGS Keyworth
  
• Tuesday 17th March – BGS Keyworth
  

Join us for Geo-Explorers, our brand new after-school kids’ club for children aged eight to eleven based at our main campus in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire. The clubs run in five-week cohorts and cost £30 for all five sessions.

Courses will run between 16:00 and 17:00 on:

• 25ÌýFebruary to 25ÌýMarchÌý
• 22ÌýApril to 20ÌýMay

Each 5 week programme covers the same content

Despite a steady rise in the number of young people pursuing educational routes into to geography, earth and environmental sciences (GEES), the under-representation of students from lower socio-economic and some marginalised ethnic backgrounds continues to be a significant issue. Aligned with BGS’s strategic goal of fostering a sustainable and diverse future workforce within the geological sciences, BGS equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) team has been actively working on several engagement initiatives to help address this.

The Royal Geographical Society has analysed the participation and progression trends of students studying geography from GCSE through to undergraduate entry. Their research showed that, between the academic years of 2009 to 20210 and 2017 to 2018, GCSE geography entries were lower among disadvantaged students who were eligible for or had received free school meals at any point, with an 11.1 per cent gap recorded in 2018. In addition, when the data was disaggregated by ethnicity, Black students had disproportionally lower entry and attainment levels in comparison to other groups. These trends persisted through A-levels and undergraduate admissions, reflecting wider concerns about diversity in GEES education and related professions, as highlighted by national statistics and comparative studies.

The relevance of this research is underscored by a 2024 report by the Key Group, which revealed UK-wide challenges in meeting the Labour Government pledge to guarantee two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person. Between 2018 and 2019, and 2023 and 2024, fewer than 50 per cent of Year 10 students participated in any work experience and under 2 per cent of those met the government target. This presents a key issue not just for young people but also for employers, as the right work experience interventions are a significant contributor in addressing skill shortages, which are estimated to be costing the UK economy approximately £20 billion a year.

Our initiatives are underpinned by research on the role of work experience in enhancing employability and career awareness, as well as research on the barriers that prevent marginalised students from accessing these opportunities. They challenge negative perceptions of GEES careers and broaden our reach through strategic partnerships that may help mitigate the geographical and financial factors limiting students’ access to BGS.

So far, we have targeted under-represented people aged 15 to 18 with initiatives that aim to:

• support the academic and career development of students across various stages
• diversify the representation of the next generation
• address negative perceptions surrounding the geoscience field, such as views that it is exclusive, uninteresting or offers limited job opportunities
• raise BGS’s profile within the job market, helping to attract future talent
• create avenues for BGS to gather insights from enthusiastic students who bring innovative ideas and diverse viewpoints
• deliver a range of career and academic development activities, with the objective of equipping participants with the confidence and skills necessary to succeed or become more resilient in their future academic and professional pursuits

Work experience feedback

Creative Tuition work experience

In October 2024, BGS and the (BAS) launched a collaborative virtual work experience programme, in partnership with student development experts and . Approximately 20 to 25 per cent of participants were either eligible for free school meals or lived within areas with the lowest rates of progression to higher education. Additionally, 69 per cent identified as female and 39 per cent were from minoritised ethnic backgrounds.

As well as broadening their career perspectives, students were actively engaged in design thinking challenges that focused on addressing our real-time priority areas. This hands-on experience not only strengthened their problem solving and critical thinking skills, but also provided our institutions with valuable insights on how to resolve our ongoing challenges.  

51ÁÔÆæ tasked students with finding exciting ways to communicate the various roles and importance of geoscientific staff to younger audiences (aged up to eight years). This task, titled ‘Geology heroes’, saw students like Renee, Ruby, Sharvari and Smaragda develop creative comic book characters and storyboards, and offer suggestions on how to disseminate the content. Similarly, BAS challenged the students to design underwater gliders capable of tracking algal blooms in Antarctic coastal sea water, with a focus on energy sources and harsh, icy conditions. The students proposed several design strategies, including the use of sonar technology to help the gliders detect icebergs and monitor changes in sea-water composition and temperature.

The measurable impact of the programme was shown by the positive feedback from students, with 94 per cent either agreeing or strongly agreeing that the work experience was beneficial and that they felt supported throughout the process. Over 80 per cent of the students reported improvements in their communication, presentation, research and collaboration skills. Feedback also showed an improvement in workplace confidence. Notably, in the months following the programme, one student from a marginalised background credited the work experience with helping them secure a nuclear engineering apprenticeship.

Springpod virtual work experience

Alongside this work experience, BGS also created another online work experience platform, running from September 2024 until April 2025. Partnering with work-based learning platform , we offered this virtual work experience for students aged between 13 and 18. As we were able to offer a programme that allowed students to learn at their own pace over a course of months, we could offer more flexibility than traditional work experience roles.

The course covered five topics:

• EDI in the geosciences
• landscapes and geology
• managing water resources and fossil collections
• monitoring multi-hazards
• employability skills

We used a multimedia platform to deliver information including video content, interactive slideshows and text and offered example tasks that replicated the day-to-day responsibilities of BGS team members, giving participants a glimpse of what different geoscience careers could involve. We also offered a ‘mock interview’ to help students improve their confidence at interview stage.

Almost 900 students enrolled in the course and we noted positive strides in the demographic of the participants completing the programme:

• 48 per cent of participants were female
• 34 per cent were from a marginalised ethnic background
•  21 per cent of students indicated that they would be first-generation university attendees
• 24 per cent mentioned they were either in care or have been eligible for school meals
• 11 per cent shared that they have special education needs

Data analyses on the programme also showed that over half of the participants reached bronze, silver or gold status of engagement and programme completion. Additionally, the average satisfaction rating was 8.1/10, with students complementing the real-life tasks that let them apply their acquired knowledge. Encouragingly, students who completed the programme reported increased awareness (97 per cent) of careers in the geoscience industry as well as increased confidence (85 per cent) to pursue these careers.

Future opportunities

While the work experience we’ve provided so far has strongly demonstrated the ability to positively influence the career trajectories of students, longer-term investment is required to enable continued impact and ensure that opportunities for under-represented students are not intermittent. To this end, the has been renewed for another year and will be available until April 2026. A second iteration of the cross-centre virtual work experience programme will also be run during the October 2025 half-term week. For updates on the programme, please visit the BGS work experience web page and keep an eye on social media.

About the author

Maria Kariuki is BGS’s EDI officer.

The was officially announced as a UNESCO Global Geopark on Thursday 17 April 2025. Arran contains a variety of rock types and structures, vast archaeological and geological heritage, and an array of habitats that all make it a truly unique location. The island has a diverse range of plants and animals that benefit from the landscape and underlying geology, which means that Scotland ‘big five’ — golden eagles, red deer, red squirrels, otters and harbour seals — are well established.

±«±··¡³§°ä°¿&²Ô²ú²õ±è; are areas with internationally important landscapes and rocks, all of which are managed responsibly for conservation, education and sustainable development. Although geology is their foundation, Global Geoparks also bring together other aspects of heritage such as archaeology, history, culture and biodiversity. Collaboration with local people makes the Global Geoparks better places to work, live and visit.

51ÁÔÆæ contributes to the development of UNESCO Global Geoparks through the UK Committee for UNESCO Global Geoparks, which is responsible for coordinating Global Geoparks at a national level, and the submission of UK candidates for UNESCO Global Geopark designation. BGS is also able to provide geological information, such as and photos.

There are now 229 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 50 countries, 10 of which are located in the UK, including the Isle of Arran. Two other Global Geoparks in Scotland are the North-west Highlands and Shetland.  Other UK Global Geoparks include the Black Country in the West Midlands of England, Fforest Fawr in south Wales, Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark in Northern Ireland.

Through my role as Chair of the UK Committee for UNESCO Global Geoparks, I mentor aspiring UNESCO Global Geoparks in the UK and have worked with the Isle of Arran over the past four years to develop its application.

Arran is truly special in terms of its geology, archaeology and habitats, and we are delighted that this has been recognised and that the island has been named as a UNESCO Global Geopark. Congratulations to all those involved.

Dr Kirstin Lemon, science programme manager at the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland and Chair of the UK Committee for UNESCO Global Geoparks.

The geology of Arran is truly special. Features of the island include folded rocks from ancient Caledonian mountains, red desert sandstone, footprints of extinct reptiles, and a great variety of dykes, sills and intrusions, formed when the Atlantic Ocean opened. It was at Arran that James Hutton, the ‘father of modern geology’, found the first example of an unconformity, now one of three Hutton unconformities. The granites of Goat Fell, Cir Mhòr and Beinn Tarsuinn are sculpted into intriguing shapes by ice, wind and water, and bear some of the finest rock-climbing routes in Scotland. I congratulate the local community for their hard work making Arran a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Dr Maarten Krabbendam, BGS Chief Geologist, Scotland.

 

General admission for the 2024 BGS Open Day is now fully booked. Thank to you to everyone who has registered for the event. In the event that any attendees are unable to attend we will release these tickets as they become available.

Geology is all around us and integral to our modern lives in some unexpected and surprising ways. Come along to see some incredible rocks and fossils, and find out how we study these to protect against the effects of climate change.

We’ll have a range of hands-on activities, tours and demonstrations to keep both young and old scientists busy, including landslide modelling, gold panning, tsunamis and the enthralling toilet roll of time! There will also be games to enjoy and, of course, the opportunity to meet our amazing BGS scientists, who are helping us to protect our natural environment. The programme will be wide ranging, with something suitable for everyone.

Food and refreshments

We will have refreshments available in our onsite canteen, plus lots of outdoor space if you wish to bring along your own picnic.

Book online

Booking is now open. Follow us on X () for event updates using #BGSOpenDay.

Planning your visit

The BGS Open Day takes place at the 51ÁÔÆæ headquarters at .

Parking will be available and clearly signposted on site. If you require parking for a minibus or coach, please contact us (bgsengage@bgs.ac.uk) beforehand to ensure we can accommodate you. Limited bicycle parking is also available.

The runs from Nottingham city centre to Keyworth every 20 minutes daily, with the journey taking approximately 30 minutes. The nearest bus stop is Green Close, a 500 m walk from the site.

Please note that the site is cashless; however, we accept all major credit cards including pre-loaded cash cards.

A mixture of indoor and outdoor activities will be offered. We’re prepared for all weathers, so please make sure you are too!

Accessibility

All open areas of the site are wheelchair accessible. A virtual walkthrough of the public areas will be available on this page in April. Activities will be offered inside and outside. Inside surfaces include carpeted and linoleum floors; outdoor activities will be on paved surfaces or grass.

Additional:

• hearing induction loops
• access ramps
• lifts (elevators)
• accessible and gender-neutral toilets
• accessible parking
• visual and auditory fire alarms (if a PEEP plan is required, please let us know at the time of booking)
• quiet room for prayer (please indicate if this is needed at the time of booking)
• designated calm space for children with SEND requirements
• BSL interpreter (please indicate if this is needed at the time of booking)

Please note that photography will be taking place during the event. If you have any concerns or would like to ensure that your photo is not taken, please speak to a member of staff at the event, who will be happy to assist.

Can’t make it to the Keyworth Open Day?

Catch us at Dynamic Earth for the on 10 April 2024, from 10:00 to 16:00.

In July, six intrepid BGS adventurers and one giant tree left on a mission to revolutionise the way people think about geology. Their mission? The Future Fields area of the at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire.

A matter of reputation

Most people with an interest in geology are probably aware that it has an image problem, an issue nicely illustrated in the 2023 paper, ‘’. So it is perhaps unsurprising then that, when teachers of a local school asked children to draw an image of a geologist before  BGS director, Karen Hanghøj, visited earlier this year the pictures largely featured older, white males — although exceptions included various creative differences, including a prosthetic leg.

The authors of the paper recommended that geologists ‘take more responsibility for supporting the development and promotion of a modern, inclusive, important and respected discipline’. This core value is recognised by BGS and, in our most recent strategy, public engagement is one of our six strategic pillars that have a fundamental, cross-cutting role in the delivery and impact of our science.  

#TheCommoditree (that giant tree)

Our new public outreach tool is a three-metre-tall tree called The Commoditree, which was funded through the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC). It was launched at this year Glastonbury Festival and had its second outing at bluedot.

The interactive installation asks people to consider the critical raw materials (placed around the roots of the tree) required to make many of the commodities (found in the branches) we enjoy as part of modern life. It reminds us that items such as our electronic devices, medical equipment and cosmetics don’t just grow on trees. (Plus, Commoditree is a great pun.)

The Commoditree wasn’t the only focus of the stand, however, although the critical raw materials theme remained. When festivalgoers stepped inside our tent they were able to see, touch and even smell an array of critical raw materials up close, as well as maps of metal extraction and deconstructed mobile phones. If they answered questions correctly they also got to take home stickers and temporary tattoos, many of which were waved at us from all around the festival grounds over the course of the weekend.   

Public engagement through a BGS lens

Engaging members of the public in geology is a sometimes challenging but always rewarding task. Throughout the weekend, my approach to introducing people to our stand was ever changing so I could refine how I engaged with the public. I found that a lot of adults wanted to be taught something, whereas the children often wanted to show me what they knew about rocks and crystals. Whilst chatting to people of all ages was brilliant, engaging with kids to help foster their love for earth science was particularly rewarding.

We had a variety of staff on the site, including someone with bright pink hair. One of the aims of public engagement is to show our audience that anyone can be involved with geology, no matter who they are. Our one stumbling block here is the aforementioned image problem and lack of diversity in our field. However, the more we chat to future geologists and show them that geologists can spend their time getting muddy, or hitting rocks, or climbing glaciers, the more we move towards a more open and accessible discipline. We’re also showing how relevant earth science is and how geology is absolutely essential to daily life. Don’t believe me? Time yourself for ten minutes and try not to use any mined materials (hint: plastic is one of them). Ìý

Public engagement is not only valuable for the public; it equally important for BGS staff members to get involved. Fostering love for your discipline with others is a valuable experience, but it equally important to pose a question to a member of the public and have them share their opinions with you — you never know what you might learn. One of our pieces at both Glastonbury and bluedot was an art installation reflecting views on potential lithium mining in the UK. We weren’t trying to shill for an answer but rather laid out both positive and negative facts that allowed festivalgoers to decide for themselves whether they wanted to vote pink (positive) or red (negative). The resulting artwork was only half of the point: the ability to allow our audience to think critically about the importance of mineral mining was the aim.

No one is an island and this is true when covering such a vast topic as geology. We had a hydrogeologyist, a survey geologist and a public engagement officer with a degree in geology to answer any questions. For me as a communications manager, it was important to speak with other members of the team and learn their thoughts on communications and public outreach, and how we could improve our future output.

Team building

Finally, we can’t forget the team building aspect of public outreach events. We worked hard at bluedot this year, but the evening also gave us a chance to bond. When we faced removing a huge installation from a muddy quagmire at the end of the weekend, we had a foundation of team spirit that saw us band together to get the job done.

In a big organisation that covers various locations across the country, connecting with staff from other offices is important. bluedot was a wonderful, fun and at times challenging experience, but I’m so glad I got to take part with such a great team,whose passion for geology and learning managed to shine through the storm clouds of the weekend.

The future of public engagement

As the festival season draws to a close, BGS will continue its public engagement strategy with public engagement events around the UK. Our installation, ‘Clean Energy Beneath Our Feet’, is also touring the UK: it at the National Mining Museum Scotland at the time of writing (July 2023) and will make its way to Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh throughout October.

The final word

I’ll leave you with a quote from a child visiting the BGS tent, amid the music and the giant telescope, who picked up a hand lens and sighed, ‘Finally, life is interesting.’

Contact

If you have an event coming up and would like us to take part, please email the BGS public engagement team (bgsengage@bgs.ac.uk).

About the author

Situated in the Green Futures field at Glastonbury, festival goers will be invited in to explore how our modern lifestyles wouldn’t be possible without rocks and minerals as part of a new touring festival stand called ‘Modern life doesn’t grow on trees’.

The centrepiece of the stand is #TheCommoditree, a brand-new public engagement installation from BGS, funded by the as part of the Department of Business and Trade.

At first glance, the tree is a sculpture reflecting the natural surroundings of its festival environment. At three metres tall, it is an eye-catching sight, intriguing visitors and helping them trace the ways in which minerals and rocks are extracted from below our feet and intrinsically wound into our modern lives.

Raising awareness and the necessity for a sustainable supply of critical metals has never been more important.Ìý #TheCommoditree will not only enable people to visualise just how important rocks and minerals are in their everyday lives, but also initiate discussions around dependence on other countries, the associated security of supply and the circular economy.

Paul Lusty, director of the Critical Minerals Intellegence Centre

Alongside ‘Modern life doesn’t grow on trees’, we are launching a host of resources for schools aimed at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils, including videos and downloads. These classroom activities will explore:

• what are rocks, minerals and metals?
• minerals in everyday life
• the life cycle of a mineral

A green future

Our modern lives are enabled by a huge range of appliances and technologies that are powering our sustainable future, from mobile phones and household items to wind turbines and solar panels. These everyday items appear in our lives without much thought as to where they come from and how they are made, yet they all have something surprising in common: they rely on a host of metals and minerals that are extracted from the ground.

#TheCommoditree has all the electrical trappings of modern life emerging from its branches. 3D-printed mineral crystals in the roots of the tree can be pressed like buttons to light up paths to the gadgets that require them for use. Solar panels and miniature wind turbines are nestled in the branches of the tree, bringing home to visitors the reality that clean energy technologies also rely to some extent on the extractive industries. Some objects will be familiar and others surprising … visitors should leave asking themselves if a disposable vape is really the best use of a lithium battery!

The road to a green future is a rocky one. This stand invites visitors to consider the difficult decisions we will all have to make and explore how mining and nature recovery must coexist in order to deliver clean energy for the future.

The team has launched a new exhibition at Glasgow Science Centre.

The is one of two new facilities that will help shed light on how underground heat resources could warm our homes and businesses.

The exhibition is called Clean Energy Beneath Our Feet and is on display now in Glasgow Science Centre Powering the Future zone.

Visitors can learn about how resources below the ground have powered our homes, towns and industries in the past, and what coming up in the future.

The exhibition was created by Glasgow Science Centre for the UK Geoenergy Observatories project.

The has 12 boreholes that are collecting data and acting as laboratories so that we can understand whether the warm water in abandoned mines could be used to power Glasgow or other cities. It was commissioned by UK Research and Innovation (51ÁÔÆæ) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and was delivered by BGS, which runs the site and manages its data. A second observatory is proposed in .

If we’re going to reach our net zero goals by 2050, we need a huge supply of clean energy.

This interactive exhibition examines just that and shows the major role that the subsurface will come to play in our future.

Visitors can interact with the science and technology that will shape energy in the future, touch a rock sample we took from 137 m below the surface of Glasgow and learn about the world-class science that taking place at the Glasgow geoenergy observatory in the east end.

Alison Robinson, NERC Deputy Executive Chair.Ìý

The new exhibition will be of interest to anyone keen to find out more about the use of geoenergy.

We designed it with the UK Geoenergy Observatories team so that it can travel to other science centres, museums and festivals in the UK, but for now it on show at Glasgow Science Centre.

Robin Hoyle, director of science at Glasgow Science Centre.

The Glasgow Observatory is part of a £31 million investment by the UK government through the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Find out more about the Glasgow Observatory by taking a .