Big Jurassic Summer Sleepout 2024

This time last week, families were arriving for the Big Jurassic Summer Sleepout!

They may have arrived to a soggy campsite but fortunately, the sun shone on us on the Saturday for a day packed full of fossil and geology-related activities.

The day started with 2 walks, one group set off up to the highest point on the South Coast, Golden Cap and the other headed down to the beach for some fossil hunting.

The hiking group enjoyed some fantastic views as they learnt all about the geological composition of Golden Cap and the surrounding area, as well as the impact this has on the local flora and fauna, courtesy of knowledgeable ambassador, John.

The fossil hunting group were not disappointed and came back with handfuls of belemnites and more!

We all then headed back to camp for some well-earned lunch.

After lunch we took a look at the fossils that were found and talked to everyone about a range of fossils that have been found on the Jurassic Coast. We had some wonderful fossil engagement with the families, looking at our fossil handling collection and the recently acquired fossils from Seatown beach.

And we worked hard polishing fossils, some that we had just found and others that had been found on the Jurassic Coast previously.

We also had a lot of fun creating palaeontological arts & crafts.

As we waited for the paint to dry on the wonderful creations, we played the ‘Walk Through Time’ game, where Sam Scriven took everyone, adults & children alike, on a palaeontological journey through time, introducing species through each age of the Mesozoic, from the Triassic, through the Jurassic, into the Cretaceous and beyond. Who survived? Perhaps you will have to find out for yourself at our next event…

We finished the day with some ‘laughter yoga’, a series of fun activities designed to encourage laughter in its participants.  Led by ambassador, Jenny, laughter could certainly be heard around the campsite. Jenny then told some wonderful fossil stories to wrap up a fun-filled day of Jurassic Coast engagement.

Thank-you to all the families who made this such a great day!